Goddess of Strife
by JDunks896
Summary: Everyone always thinks Marinette will do everything for them. They use her generosity, and dispose of her once she's no longer useful. And Tikki still tells her to be positive, because Ladybug, the perfect hero, can't be flawed. Marinette, eager to finally put herself first, agrees to Hawk Moth. However, even he didn't foresee what Eris would do... Rated T just in case. Akumanette.
1. There's Evil Moths In My Head

**This is coming from the fact that Tikki's saying Marinette has to stay positive like it'll be the end of the world if she isn't. It's like she isn't able to express her negativity, which is a basic human right, I don't care if it gives her a close shave with akumas. So this is Marinette being sick of everything and wanting a way to vent... which attracts some unfortunate attention that Marinette isn't in a position to turn away.**

**…**

Marinette furiously bit her lip. _How dare she, how dare she, how dare she?!_

Alya had furiously confronted her later that day, accusing her of something else she'd done to Lila, the rest of the class backing her up, and worst of all, they'd stolen her sketchbook and torn it apart, stating that she didn't deserve it after she'd destroyed something so important to Lila.

And when Adrien had found out, he'd gone to talk to her, and she'd though that she'd get some _sympathy,_ some _reassurance, _heck, at this point, she'd take pity.

But instead, Adrien had waved it off, reaffirming that exposing Lila wouldn't do anything, that her lies weren't hurting anyone, and that she could just make a new sketchbook so it wasn't a big deal.

And now she was at home after a terrible day, and her parents again asking if they should ban anyone from school from the bakery, and Tikki was trying to encourage her again. "Marinette, think positive! You can't attract an akuma!"

And it was that sentence that made something in her head snap.

"I can't attract an akuma?! Why not?! Why can't I be upset, huh?! Why can't I express my frustrations?! What makes me so special that I'm not allowed the basic human right of feeling emotions, huh?!"

Tikki pulled on her antennas, worried. "Marinette, you're Ladybug! You can't be akumati-"

Marinette screamed. "Oh right, I'm Ladybug! Paris's perfect hero, who never screws up, who always has an answer! And Marinette, the good friend! The girl who does everything you ask without asking for anything in return, the one who'll gladly just comply with anything you want her to do that you never asked her permission to do! Perfect, happy, generous, kind Marinette, who'll happily let us just use her to get what we want, and step aside when someone who can give us more comes into the picture! Well, I! Have! Had! It! If being Ladybug means I have to be perfect and never feel anything other than joy with my life-"

She reached up and tore out her earrings. "-then I'm not gonna be Ladybug anymore!"

"Mari-" But it was too late, as the Kwami was absorbed back into the Miraculous, helpless to do anything more.

Marinette threw them onto her desk, stewing in her anger for a moment. She had every right to feel this way! How dare everyone shame her for-

**_You're absolutely right, Ms. Dupain-Cheng._**

Marinette gasped. She knew who this voice was.

Hawk Moth.

**_Eris, I am Hawk Moth. Everyone always expects you to be perfect, to do what they want, to put them first no matter what. Well, I'm offering you the chance to put yourself first. You can finally be your first priority, and no one will ever try to control you again. But I'll need payment for my generosity._**

Marinette shuddered. "The Miraculous."

**_Smart girl. Well, Ms. Marinette? Do we have a deal?_**

Marinette briefly considered her options, and smirked darkly.

It was her time to shine. But first, just to shake up Hawk Moth a bit...

"I agree to your terms."

A delighted chuckle.

**_Excellent. One more thing. As you're a fashion designer, I assume you'll want to create your costume? I have all the materials you need. Run wild, Eris._**

"You got it."

Darkness consumed her, not unlike her normal transformation, but where Tikki was warmth and light and happiness, the akumatization was... cold. Nevertheless, she didn't want to end up a fashion disaster like Nino, so...

When the miasma faded, she smiled proudly at her outfit. Her hair was braided and now touched the floor, her now purple hair ribbons wrapped around her forehead like headbands. Her face wasn't covered by a mask, but by navy blue paint- she wanted her face to be seen, wanted everyone to know that perfect Marinette was the one tearing them down.

Her actual clothing was simple, but it suited her purposes. A black tank top with purple stripes and a blue butterfly on the back. Black wrist armor and greaves were sported as well as dark blue jogging pants, a sheathed sword was slung over her back (she didn't make that, but she could probably use it), and best of all, a second pair of arms protruded from her shoulders, each one holding a razor sharp dagger. More daggers were strapped to a bandolier and her belt- which sported a black circle with red spots as the buckle, just to mock Paris a little more.

She also noticed she had black horns protruding from her scalp, both pointing backwards.

Marinette- no, it was Eris now- looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look half bad. Four arms would come in handy (oh dear, Cat Noir was rubbing off on her), and the horns were a nice touch.

She looked just as powerful and dangerous as she felt.

Then she smirked. She was glad Hawk Moth had given her power, don't get her wrong- she noticed her akumatized bracelet was conveniently hidden under her wrist armor- but she just didn't see herself needing him anymore. Not when she could... say... track his location and liberate his Kwami, who was probably being horribly abused.

But first things first.

She gently picked up the earrings, and fished a familiar box out of her desk drawer. The one that the earrings had come in.

She carefully placed them in.

Then Eris carefully opened her balcony trapdoor, and cracked both sets of knuckles. "Let's see how this works."

She sprang off the roof, landed without a sound, and dashed off towards a certain massage parlour...

…

Master Fu had been up late, reading a book, when the door opened, and Marinette came through.

No, not Marinette. Whatever her akuma name was. But just to be sure...

He looked at the four-armed figure, standing with one pair of them behind her back. "Marinette?"

The girl smiled gently. "It's Eris now, Master. But I'm not here for that. I need to do something."

Fu got into a fighting position. "You intend to take the rest of the Miraculous?"

Eris snorted. "Hardly. I just thought I'd return something you loaned me."

She brought out the pair of hands she was concealing, and revealed the box. "I don't particularly want Hawk Moth to get his hands on her, and she'll probably be safer with you than with me."

Fu took the box with shaking hands. "Why are you doing this, Eris? What happened to you?"

Eris's smile became sad. "My heart wasn't broken, Master. It was torn out and shattered to shards. I was always expected to do whatever anyone else needed, and I was abandoned when everyone thought Lila was more useful than me..."

Fu nodded. "So you're going after Lila, then. Very well, Mari- my apologies, Eris. I obviously cannot stop you, and you have returned your greatest weapon to where you got it from."

Eris was already turning around, her horns almost scraping the doorframe, when she heard Master Fu speak. She turned back towards him, and no her smile was more amused. "You're wise, Master, but even you can't predict everything. How do you know Lila's my real target?"

Hawk Moth's Mask suddenly flashed into view, and she couldn't repress her startled gasp, though she easily concealed her sudden fear. **_Eris, where are you? Does this place have any tactical usage?_**

She shook her head. "It's nothing, Hawk Moth. Mr. Chan is just a family friend. I thought he'd worry if I didn't give him an explanation as to my akumatization."

**_Not your parents?_**

"They'll find out soon enough- I'm using my room as a base of operations."

**_Very well, then. I shall check in again in the morning._**

The mask faded, and Eris let out a breath. "He isn't suspicious. That's one part in place."

"Part?"

Eris chuckled and walked over to the table. "You mind if I stab this?"

Master Fu shook his head, so Eris plunged the daggers her upper set of arms was holding into the table. Red light shimmered between them, before creating an image of a red tinted chessboard. Several pieces were set into place- on the white side, every single piece, except there was one rook, one knight, and ten pawns.

"Queen, obviously, is Lila. Take her out first-" Eris removed the queen from the board. "-to take out the most dangerous piece. King, Cat Noir. Take him out when I can, or when it's convenient." She left the king, and moved on.

"Bishops are Alya and Nino. Both dangerous, given their superhero experience. Take them out when I can." She knocked both over.

"Pawns, obviously the rest of my class. I don't need to take them out, but... it'll make life much easier." She swept them all away.

"Rook, Chloe. Dangerous, but persuadable. Destroy her if I must-" she held a hand over the piece for a moment- "but if I can..." She picked up the rook and moved it over to the black side of the board, where it became a queen. "...make good use of her."

She moved on to the last piece. "And finally, knight. Poor, delusional Adrien. Take him out whenever, but preferably the pawns and bishops first, because that'll be pretty satisfying." She grabbed the knight and crushed it in her hand.

"Now my side." She waved her hand, and four black pieces appeared- king, another queen, and two pawns. "King is my akuma. Protect it at all costs. Queen is me. Take as many of the enemy as I can. Pawns..."

She moved them both forwards. "...Hawk Moth and Mayura. Sacrifice them for the cause, and maybe get a little reward out of it."

She smirked. "And that's my entire side... unless I can convince the only three people who are still friends with me." She created three more queens, and placed them on the board. "And with Chloe and our... surprise guests, I'll be able to take on anybody who gets in my way."

She picked up the daggers, and with a gentle tap of a finger, repaired the table. She exited again, turning back for only a moment. "I suggest you get further away, Master. This is gonna be crazy-town bananas."

She exited the building, leaving an old man and a turtle Kwami (who had been hiding in the gramophone) wondering what exactly to do.

**…**

**I might have made Marinette a little... I think it's OCC? I'm not really sure? But I needed a good reason to akumatize her, as you've seen in the story description before you selected this one to read. Obviously she isn't gonna give up Tikki, because she's Marinette- well, Eris now. Her powers aren't actually holographic imaging, that's just a party trick she can do with the daggers: if she plants one dagger at, say, the top of the Effiel Tower, and another at the bottom of the Seine, she'll be able to create red-tinted, semitransparent images in that space, but it'll be obvious they're fakes as people can see through them.**

**If you liked this story, I'm glad. If you think I missed something, or you don't understand what the heck I was thinking when I did some parts of this chapter, feel free to review and inform me, and I'll give you an answer in the next chapter. **

**And... that's pretty much it, so until next time, stay tuned!**

**Next chapter: The school**


	2. I Go Back To School

**...wow, if I'd know that one chapter would get 6 favourites and 13 follows for this story, I would have put it up a lot sooner. Now then, this chapter is Eris... not doing what you might expect, but maybe you did. So, let's begin! Oh, and that reminds me. Tikki?**

**Tikki: JDunks doesn't own Miraculous!**

**Thanks. The cookies are on the table.**

**…**

Adrien was smiling as he walked into the school. Everything was going perfectly for him. His father... wasn't really showing that much of an interest in him, but he was still allowed to go to public school at least. Nathalie, who had developed an awful cough on Hero's Day, seemed to be doing much better.

And school was great as well. Sure, Lila was still spinning her stories, but they couldn't hurt anyone. She was just having some harmless fun. Soon, everyone would see she was lying, she'd explain herself, they would forgive her, and everything would be normal again.

The only bad thing was Marinette. She'd seemed so distraught yesterday when her sketchbook of designs had been torn up- apparently Lila said she had destroyed a very important thing to her- but it wasn't a big deal. Marinette was creative. She could just make another one. It wasn't like Lila had spun some crazy fiction where Marinette was Hawk Moth.

He'd have to talk to her again. They couldn't expose Lila. It would only get her akumatized.

And Plagg wasn't talking to him much either, aside from requests for camembert- and even those were few and far between. But the Kwami still transformed him, so Adrien couldn't really complain, since he still got to see his Ladybug. He couldn't wait until they defeated Hawk Moth and could get married.

So why did he feel like he'd done something horribly wrong?

He entered class and sat down next to Lila as normal, before turning around to ask Alya about Marinette.

The girl scoffed. "She hasn't answered any of our messages, and she hasn't asked Lila for forgiveness. We're considering leaving her out of activities until she apologizes to Lila."

Adrien nodded. Hopefully Marinette would do the right thing and apologize, so that the class would forgive her, seeing as they couldn't call Lila out on her lie.

And then, just as the teacher was beginning class, the door exploded off its hinges.

Everyone screamed as the smashed through the window and landed in the street below, but then the obvious akuma walked in, and Adrien gasped in horror.

She had four arms, each hand covered by a black fingerless glove, and black vambraces that looked like they were made out of scales. Similarly made greaves worn over black combat boots and dark blue sweatpants. A black and purple striped tank top was covered by a bandolier of knives, and similar weapons were tucked into her belt, which sported a buckle that looked like a colour reversed ladybug.

Her hair was tied back in a long braid that touched the floor, and then it shifted and Adrien realized that the tip of the braid was actually a rather large spearhead. A pair of purple ribbons were wrapped around her forehead, the ends drifting down over her shoulders. Long black horns grew from her scalp.

The the most horrifying part was the 'mask' of blue facepaint that did nothing to conceal her identity.

Marinette.

He opened his mouth to demand _why, how, _but Alya beat him to it. "I can't believe you! Getting akumatized over some petty jealousy because Lila likes Adrien just like you do?! Grow up, Marinette! This is just selfish!"

Marinette said nothing for a moment, but Adrien could see fury gleaming in her eyes, which had turned bright red. Then she spoke, the ribbons on her forehead shifting. "My name..."

The ribbons retreated from her forehead, revealing a second pair of eyes, pure red unlike her irises. "Is _Eris. _You'll do well to remember that, Cesaire."

Lila let out a pitiful whimper. "Oh, Marinette! I had no idea you disliked me so much that you'd get akumatized over me! Have I really done something so wrong to you? Can't I ever make it up to you?"

The rest of the class glared at her following this. Kim was the first to speak. "Yeah! You should forgive Lila! She's never done anything! I can't believe you got akumatized! You're so selfish, Marinette!"

The rest of the class echoed this, until Marinette clenched a fist and pointed it towards the ceiling, where it glowed for a moment-

_And then a beam of purple light erupted from her fist and blasted clean through it._

Marinette lowered her smoking fist, glaring at Kim. "If you'd like to keep speaking, I've got three more fists to shoot that from."

Everyone was promptly silent. Then Marinette smirked. "Yes, I'm here for Lila. But-"

Adrien spoke up, shocked that she'd go so far. "Marinette! You can't do this! It won't solve any-"

Marinette waved her hand, and he felt as though something very heavy had just been hurled into his stomach. He crashed back into his chair with a gasp. "My _name _is _Eris, _and if you call me Marinette one more time, I'll throw you off the Effiel Tower on live TV!"

She turned back to Lila. "Now, again, I'm here for Lila, so that I can thank her."

_...what? She's not going to expose Lila?_

"If it wasn't for you, I never would have realized the truth about any of the rest of you. So, Lila, here's my thanks."

Marinette's ribbons lashed out, wrapping around Lila and pulling her in front of Marinette, as black energy glowed off the girl's hands, forming a bubble that completely trapped her in.

Lila pounded on the bubble, all sound to the outside completely muffled, until Marinette fired the powerful beam at the bubble. The attack did absolutely nothing.

"Now, should I remove the bubble, or would you like to stay in it?"

Lila was still for a moment, before she nodded.

Marinette turned back to the class, unsheathing the sword slung across her back, and drawing three daggers with the other three. "Now then-"

A book struck her on the back of the head. A second flew towards her, but her speartip braid came up and pierced it.

Ms. Bustier was standing at her desk, hurling every single thing on it straight at the akuma's face. And she had a surprising amount of ammunition. "Everybody, run!"

The students obeyed, Adrien the first to get through the door. He had to find a place to transform so that he could save Marinette!

_Eris's POV..._

Eris spun, her daggers slicing through the next object hurled at her, before lashing out with her ribbons and catching the next two. _Please work... _Purple light lit up the ribbons and what they were holding, and they changed, becoming a pair of chains attached to spiked metal spheres the size of a typical textbook. She grinned. "I didn't know if that would work, but I'm so glad it did!"

She spun her new weaponry, knocking away the first few things Bustier threw at her, before simply lashing them out, smashing them into the wall on either side of the woman. Then she grabbed the teacher's desk with both hands, and flipped it towards the back of the classroom.

She held up a glowing fist to the teacher, but then the glow faded.. "Darn, I forgot about the cooldown."

Bustier shivered as Eris twirled the dagger between her fingers. "C...cooldown?"

Eris shrugged. "Yeah. Limited stock of energy, no real way to get more at the moment, so I can't use any of my powers that need it."

"Energy stock?"

"It's like an internal battery. When it runs out, I need to find a way to charge it."

Bustier nodded absentmindedly, then blinked in confusion. "Why are you telling me this? I can just tell Ladybug and Cat Noir, and they'll be able to stop you!"

Eris grinned wickedly, relishing in the fact that she still had hope Ladybug would save the day. She couldn't wait to burn down that perfect image, make everyone see that Ladybug was human, too. "Please. I'm sending you to a place where I assure you, you won't be telling anyone anything. Cat Noir won't know anything. And Ladybug?"

She smirked. "Ladybug isn't coming. She's a little busy holding her teacher at knifepoint."

Bustier let out a gasp, but then Eris, quick as a viper, stabbed a dagger into her side.

Bustier opened her mouth to scream, then blinked when she felt no pain, the wound instantly closing itself as the dagger's blade dissolved, essentially fusing the handle into her body. Then she slumped as the purple gemstone in the hilt of the weapon began to glow, lines etched into it filling up with purple light. "What the... what..."

Eris grinned. "Going along with my metaphor, I've essentially turned you into a charging cord. That dagger siphons energy from you and transfers it to me, no matter where you are. But I'm not about to let you run free..."

The blade of her sword began to glow bright purple as she lowered it. "You've always been a cause of my torment. You always ignored how much Chloe hated me, pairing me up with her every chance you got, for the delusional hope that somehow it would magically make her a good person, never willing to actually work with Chloe yourself. Now you'll know _exactly _what I went through! Welcome to Hell, population: you!"

She tapped Bustier over the heart with the blade, and purple cracks began forming across the teacher's entire body, until her entire body was glowing bright purple. She let out a scream, and then Eris held up her blade, and Bustier dissolved into purple sparks of light, absorbed into the weapon until she was gone and it stopped glowing.

She tilted it so that she could she the blade's surface, and grinned. Instead of her reflection, there was one of Bustier, her face in an expression of shock, her hand pressed against the surface of the weapon as though it was a door she was trying to push open. The image didn't move even a muscle.

She chuckled and walked over to Lila's bubble, tapping it with her blade so that it- and its inhabitant- began to shrink, until they were no larger than a marble (She still couldn't hear Lila, but it was pretty funny imagining her screams of panic). She carefully tucked it into the pocket of her sweatpants.

Then a cheeky voice announced, "Well, hello there, Princess! Fancy meeting you out here!"

Eris smirked as she turned around, energy siphoned from Bustier beginning to trickle into her reserves. "Hello, Cat Noir."

_Buster's POV_

Caline blinked awake, and the first thing she saw was... herself. At the front of the class, looking the way she did a few years ago. "Alright, class, we're having a project! The groups have been preselected- no, Nathaniel, you aren't with Alix- and it will be due on Friday. I'll hand out the rubrics. Group 1 is Marinette and Chloe!"

From there, Bustier saw everything that happened over the course of that week from Marinette's perspective- mainly the bits involving Chloe. She saw Marinette trying to get Chloe to work with her. She saw Marinette painstakingly working over her half of the project for the entirety of the allotted time. She saw Chloe turning up having done nothing. She saw Chloe taking the credit for Marinette's work.

She saw herself, giving Chloe the credit and making Marinette do an extra credit assignment, because praising Marinette wouldn't make Chloe better.

And then the emotions rolled over her. Marinette's sadness, anger, exhaustion... all the negatives, none of the positives.

And then a new scene- her pairing Marinette with Chloe, and the consequences that only Marinette suffered, and the emotions from that as well.

And then another scene. And another, and another, until Caline was practically submerged in Marinette's negative emotions.

The last scene was the one that broke her- Marinette's present, which she spent a whole week toiling away at, ruined by Chloe. And what did Caline do? She said she'd count the gift from both of the girls.

That surge of negativity finally had Caline snap, sobbing and screaming apologies that Eris, outside of the sword, couldn't hear. And then, the scenes started all over again, like some cruel movie she couldn't turn off.

**…**

**So... yeah, that happened. Basically, Eris has enhanced strength, force fields that double as storage units, energy blasts that are fuelled by absorbing energy from people, the ability to gain said energy by stabbing them, and she can trap people in her sword and force them to witness moments of her past from her perspective that regard the trapped person.**

**She's also got three more abilities, but one only works on Miraculous wielders, so we won't see that for a while. One of them relates to her horns, which we'll see a lot sooner. The last one is again related to her daggers, and we'll see that in chapter 4. Oh, and she can also use her sword to make portals, but that one isn't used very much because it's too powerful.**

**I'm working on her fight against Cat Noir about... five minutes after I post this, so that'll be fun. Also, we're gonna see a lot more heroes than usual, including Kagami as Ryu (the dragon hero). If anyone has any ideas for what the heck her power is, please review. And that's it, so stay tuned for the next chapter, coming late tonight, or early tomorrow!**

**Side note: reviews make me happy. I write when I'm happy. Just a thought.**


	3. The Stray Cat Annoys Me

**I was stupid and forgot to respond to the reviews I got like I normally do, so that's what I'm doing here. Since this is the same document I'm writing chapter 3 in, I'll attach the actual story to this later on. Now then:**

**HeredamAquam: Glad you think so, glad you like it, feel free.**

**KittyKatDancer: Oh, good, I was actually worried about keeping Marinette's character. Yeah, that probably is a little outside Alya and Kim, but they have been under Lila's thumb and influenced to hate Marinette- the way I see it, Mari brings out the best in people, and Lila brings out the worst. Look at Chameleon. Plus they take for granted that Marinette is happy and cheerful and generous, so anything else seems... alien, because that's the Marinette they've always known. Plus, let's not forget that Tikki was actually indirectly responsible for Eris.**

**Jane the fan: Will do, will do.**

**Nieka2000: I'm afraid you'll have to, these things take time to write, as much as I want to get the story out for you people.**

**Supergirldragon: Oh, there'll be plenty of Adrien guilt once he realized the role he played in Marinette's akumatization. And boy, oh boy, am I looking forward to knocking some sense into the stupid boy's head. Why is not exposing Lila even an _option?_**

**rebekahpsweatman81: Working on it, working on it.**

**Thanks to Jane the fan, Ladybug fan Renee, ****and**** Randa1 for favoriting this story.**

**Please, if you have any ideas for the powers- actually, no, Kagami ain't getting a Miraculous. But I'm giving other people Miraculouses, so I need ideas for the Dog, Tiger, Pig, Rooster,**** Ox, and Goat Miraculouses. Please, help a guy out?**

**And... chapter!**

**…**

Eris smirked at Cat Noir as he crouched in a battle position, his tail waving lazily in the air. "Hello, Cat Noir."

The cat grinned. "Alright, I'm sure you know how this goes. Hand over the akuma, and we don't have to fight."

_Yeah, no. Sorry, Kitty. But first, I'm gonna mess with your head._

Eris put on a simpering face- she didn't want to hurt Cat Noir, but she needed him out of the way, so she needed to push his buttons. "But isn't Ladybug the only one who can purify akumas?"

Cat Noir smirked confidently. "I'm sure Ladybug'll be along soon, but I might as well soften you up!"

He paused when a sharp cackle ran out and noticed Eris grinning. "Really? That's what you think? Well then, let me let you in on a secret: Ladybug's gone."

_...what?_

"The poor thing. She just gave up when she suffered the worst of betrayals."

Cat Noir was instantly angered. "What do you mean?! I'd never betray my Lady!"

Eris snorted. "You're really self-cantered enough to believe that _you _betrayed her? You get mind-controlled by akumas so often it isn't even funny! No, Cat Noir. Ladybug was belittled and broken. Everyone turned away from her at the words of another girl, and the one person who stood by her simply told her to take no action. And that..."

She clenched a fist so that it made an audible crack. "...made her an easy target."

Cat Noir was visibly repressing his rage. "Look, Marinette, we don't have to fight. Just give up the akuma and the Miraculous, and tell me what you did to Ladybug."

Eris grinned. "Didn't I tell you? She's gone. And you won't be seeing her for a long time."

Cat Noir screeched and sprang as Eris prepared her weapon. "Oh, and remember..."

She slashed through the air, tearing open a hole in space that Cat Noir shot straight into. She shouted after him, "...my name is Eris!"

She smirked as she shut the portal and watched Cat Noir land on the street outside. She could only teleport along sight lines, or to a place she'd placed a dagger in (though the long distance aspect only worked for one place), but the power was worthwhile.

And it had used up almost all the energy she'd harvested from Bustier, which was coming in as barely a trickle. She needed to start siphoning off more people.

But what mattered was that, if she gave up her own energy, she'd have enough to get home, though she'd be exhausted.

She slashed open another portal, winked at Cat Noir, and vanished.

…

When she landed, she let out a groan as energy seeped out of her. Her mother instantly ran to her side (it had been a shock to see their daughter as a four-armed supervillain, but she was still unquestionably Marinette) and helped her get to her feet. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

Eris groaned. "I'll be fine, mom. I just need to rest for a short while. Act like a concerned parent if anyone from school tells you I'm akumatized, please?"

Sabine smiled warmly. "Of course, dear." She left the room, only turning back for a second. "And it might not be normal for me to be praising a villain, but I'm glad you're getting what you deserve."

Eris smiled back. "Thanks, mom. I'll be down to help with dinner, okay?"

Sabine nodded and exited the room.

Eris sighed, too tired to stop going along with her previous metaphor. "I really do need another charging cord."

She pulled out the Lila marble and dissipated it, causing Lila to fall to the ground where she quickly grew back to normal size.

Without a word, Eris stabbed a dagger into Lila's back, causing a gasp of shock. The gemstone in the hilt glowed, and Eris let out a sigh as another trickle of energy began entering her reserves.

Lila gasped. "What the- why would you _do _that?!"

Eris tilted her head curiously. "Do what?"

Lila looked up in confusion. "I threatened to take away all your friends, I made your life hell, and I contributed to you akumatization! And all you've done is what you did to the teacher, which doesn't even hurt!"

Eris shrugged. "If my friends all hate me the moment someone new who can do stuff for them appears- and I've bent over backwards for them more timesthan I can count- then they aren't really my friends. I'm actually grateful to you for showing me that."

Lila blinked a few times. "So they only-"

"Yes."

"Because I said-"

"Yes."

Lila shook her head. "Wow, your friends suck."

Eris rolled her eyes, silently unsheathing her sword. "They aren't my friends anymore."

Then Lila looked interested. "Wait, did you really beat Ladybug-"

Eris lowered her glowing blade, and Lila let out a scream before she was absorbed.

She rolled her eyes. "Thank goodness. I was getting tired of her."

She tilted the blade again, and this time, it showed Lila in the position of Bustier. Then the reflection shifted, and she smirked as she saw an image of Ladybug, standing confidently. "Now, if I know my kitty, he's probably going to see Master Fu, and seeing as I told him who I've entrusted with the Miraculous..."

She tilted the blade one last time, and it showed an image of a certain blue-eyed teenager. "So I'd better get there first."

…

Cat Noir burst into the massage parlour, detransformed, and gasped out, "Marinette's been akumatized and she's already defeated Ladybug!"

Fu nodded grimly. "I'm aware."

Adrien blinked. "You are?"

"Eris came by... and she left behind a present."

Fu brought out a small box, and opened it, revealing none other than the Ladybug Miraculous.

"What the- what?!"

"She dropped this off here. She said it would be bad if Hawk Moth got it."

Adrien blinked. This was unexpected.

"She also told me her plan with a chessboard metaphor. She referred to Hawk Moth as a pawn."

_Hawk Moth's a pawn? Then that means..._

Adrien grinned. "Marinette's still in there somewhere! That means we can bring her back to normal!"

Then he frowned. "I just don't get why she'd get akumatized."

Fu frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She's Marinette! She's supposed to be kind, and helpful, and positive! She's not supposed to get upset!"

Fu glared. "Adrien, are you saying Marinette's not allowed to feel sadness? People have dimensions. She might have a cheerful exterior, but for all you know, on the inside, she's a seething ball of fury."

Adrien blinked. He hadn't considered this. "Well... that makes sense. But without Ladybug, I can't beat her. I need to give out more Miraculous."

Fu nodded. "I have a list of the previous wielders. Ladybug gave it to me in case she was compromised."

He took out a piece of paper and handed it over. Adrien began scanning it, and blinked. "Rena Rouge is Alya? And Carapace is Nino? Wasn't expecting that. Okay, let's see... Queen Bee I already know, Bunnyx is Alix in the future, I know that... Viperion is Luka, Pegase is Max, and Roi Singe is Kim. Okay, then."

Fu removed the mentioned Miraculous, then took out a few more. "Give all the others out to people you trust. You will need support."

Adrien nodded. "I understand, Master. Plagg, Claws Out!"

…

Luka was just walking back into his room when the akumatized villain landed before him on the deck of the houseboat. For a moment, he was ready to scream and run for it, until he recognized her. "Marinette?"

Eris smiled gently. "Hey, Luka. Can we talk?"

Luka, too dumbfounded to do anything else, ushered Marinette into his bedroom.

**…**

**I admit, this is shorter than I'd like, but I didn't know what else to put in. And now you know who one of the queens represented on the chessboard: Luka! Plus, Eris will be giving him a bit of a bonus... no, not a kiss- yet. This is Lukanette, because I wanted to do a Lukanette story. I'll let you guess the other two if you want- I'll confirm via PM if you're correct, but if you are, please don't spoil it for other people. I like movies and stuff being spoiled for me, but I'm aware other people don't.**

**I'm also now including a description of Eris's powers below. She's pretty capable, if you ask me.**

**And that's pretty much it, so stay tuned! Next chapter coming tomorrow! (Or maybe tonight, but don't get your hopes up)**

**My Akumanette: Eris!**

**Powers:**

**Pocket Dimension Imprisonment ****Memory Projection***

**Energy Absorption**

**Death Lasers**

**Force Field Projection Size Changing***

**Enhanced Strength**

**Teleportation**

**Transmutation**

**???**

**???**

**???**

**Powers marked with * are only usable in conjunction with the power on the other side of the plus sign.**

**Next chapter: The Conscription.**


	4. I Perform Off-Screen Mind Control

**Next chapter! Now, let's see what Marinette-**

**Eris: It's Eris!**

**Ack, sorry. Let's see what Eris is planning to do with Luka...**

**Eris: You know my plans for Luka! You know what I'm gonna do to Luka! You literally created the entire scenario, complete with images, while you were trying to fall asleep last night!**

**...I sometimes forget that figments of my imagination have frightening amounts of knowledge about me... on with the story.**

**New favourites: konohinamoto, crazzyRR, Ipsfan100, LaylaNr27, kiekie290, WolfFuryFangFist6, ****and HeredemAquam. Thank you for your support.**

**Note: Sorry this is up later than I'd hoped, a Youtuber I recently started watching mentioned a video game playthrough I wanted to watch.**

**…**

Luka was staring at Eris in dismay. "They all did that? Even Juleka?"

Eris nodded sadly. "Every single one of them. The only people I still have are you, Kagami, and Marc, and that's only because Kagami doesn't believe Lila's lies either!"

Luka shrugged. "She seemed pretty ticked off when you told her Adrien said not to expose her."

"Yeah, and she couldn't do anything because after she confronted him, Adrien mysteriously began taking private lessons to 'improve his capabilities'! That is complete *censored*!"

Luka winced from the profanity. "I'm not gonna argue with that."

Then he frowned. "But why come here? You could be anywhere in Paris, so why my place?"

Eris let out a breath. "Luka, there's a lot of heroes in Paris. I'm not gonna stand a chance if Cat Noir gets Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee to help fight me, even with my strength level. So I came to ask you for help."

Luka was at once disturbed. "This isn't, like... mind control, right?"

"No, it's all voluntary. I was just asking... and I wanted to get to you before Cat Noir did."

"What do you mean?"

Eris sighed. "Luka, I know that you're Viperion."

The impact one sentence could have was astonishing. Luka, for his credit, restrained his shock enough to ask a simple question: "How do you know that?"

Eris grinned wickedly. "I used to be Ladybug."

Luka blinked. And again. "That makes so much sense."

Eris unsheathed a dagger. "Luka, I need my friends with me, especially now. So what do you say? Will you join my cause?"

Luka thought about it. Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette was akumatized.

Marinette was still perfectly sane, making rational decisions, and getting help from people she trusted.

She was still Marinette. Still the girl he loved.

He reached out and gripped the dagger.

Eris smiled. "Thanks Luka- oh crap, that reminds me, this is really gonna hurt."

Luka blinked. "What do you mean, this is gonna-"

The dagger exploded into black and purple flames, wrapping around the teenager, who began screaming in agony, until he finally passed out from the pain.

…

Luka blinked awake. He felt... different.

Eris was sitting in a chair by his bed. "You okay?"

Luka groaned. "Um... yeah, I think- Whoa."

His voice had a more... resonate tone than usual, sounding like two people were speaking at once.

Eris nodded towards the mirror in the corner, so Luka walked over.

And the only thing he could say was: "Dang, Eris, you've still got a fashion sense."

He'd kept his original outfit, only now it was jet black. He had snake fang earrings instead of his normal studs, and the dyed strands of his hair had turned dark gold. Similarly coloured facepaint covered his eyes like his Viperion mask. Black vambraces with gold details, and similar greaves, black combat boots, black fingerless gloves, and a necklace made entirely out of golden flames dangled from his neck.

Eris grinned. "Your guitar, too."

Luka picked it up, and it instantly changed, turning jet black with golden details. An additional absentminded notice was that the dagger he had been holding was now a guitar pick. "Okay, this is pretty cool."

The other person in the room smirked wickedly. "Welcome to Team Eris, Apollo."

Apollo smirked right back. "What's our next move?"

Eris shrugged. "I'm gonna go recruit Marc. You try out your new powers."

"Fair enough. Good luck."

Eris nodded and walked out the door.

…

Cat Noir dropped in on Alya and Nino first. Alya had been surprised that he'd brought the Miraculous to them.

"Where's Ladybug?"

Cat Noir grimaced. "Marinette... took her down."

Alya blinked a few times. "Wait. _Marinette _took down Ladybug? Like, kind, generous, cheerful Marinette? Who shouldn't have gotten akumatized in the first place?"

Cat Noir nodded wordlessly.

Alya picked up the box with the Fox Miraculous. "C'mon, babe. I've gotta save my bestie."

Nino shrugged and picked up the Turtle Miraculous. "Right behind you."

Cat Noir allowed a mental sigh of relief. Even if Alya had done a few bad things to Marinette, that was no reason Marinette shouldn't forgive her. All Alya had to do was apologize, and all would be well.

He was pretty sure that was how the world worked.

At least Marinette wasn't trying to expose Lila. It would only get the other girl akumatized once they saved Marinette, and that wouldn't be good.

Cat Noir shook his head. He still had Miraculouses to drop off. Probably Kim and Max next, then he'd do Chloe and Luka. Once he had them, they could decide as a group who to give the other Miraculouses to.

He nodded to himself. That was a good plan.

With that in mind, he set off towards Kim's house, hoping he'd be there.

…

Marc was admittedly a bit surprised when Marinette turned up to his house as an akumatized villain, but by the time she'd finished her explanation of what had caused it, he was seething with fury.

"And everybody's siding with her?"

Eris sighed. "Yeah. Even Nathaniel."

Marc hissed out a few swear words under his breath. "But- that makes no sense! This is you we're talking about! You've done so much for them and sacrificed nearly as much! You're literally the last person who would try to hurt somebody over some petty jealousy! What the actual hell are those morons thinking?!"

Eris smiled. "It's nice to see someone actually pointing out why I wouldn't do that over why I would. I take it you're on my side, then?"

Marc snorted. "If you have to ask, there's something wrong with you. I'm in. You said you already got Luka?"

"He currently goes by Apollo. But yeah, pretty much."

Marc stood up. "Well, do whatever you did to him! This liar needs to pay!"

Eris at once unsheathed a dagger and filled it with her power. "You just need to take this out of my hand. It'll hurt like hell, though."

Marc blinked a few times. "Uh... just a moment, if you please."

He took out his phone and sent a single message to Nathaniel, then tossed it aside. "I'm ready."

Eris held out the knife. "Welcome to Team Eris, Prometheus."

Marc grasped the dagger, and began to scream as flames erupted around him.

A few moments of agonizing pain later, the flames faded, and Marc was holding a red pen instead of a dagger. "What the..."

Eris smirked. "Try writing something."

Wanting to see how he looked, Marc uncapped the pen and held it up, trying to write midair, and surprisingly, the ink actually showed up, like the air was just a sheet of paper.

And then the word 'mirror' became an actual mirror.

His normal outfit had turned all black, he now sported red-accented vambraces and greaves, and unlike Eris, he sported a black and red motorcycle helmet. Additionally, his hoodie had random words scribbled all over it in red ink. His eyes were a similar shade of scarlet (Ooh, that was good illiteration! He'd have to remember that.)

He whistled, feeling more confident than usual. "Not bad, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Anything I should do?"

Eris shrugged. "I'm gonna go recruit Kagami. You make your way to the Couffaine houseboat. Apollo's there already, taking care of Juleka."

Prometheus nodded, writing 'portal' in the air, and stepping through the resulting vortex, while Eris made her way out his window.

…

Cat Noir hadn't come up with much complaint when he'd given Kim his Miraculous, and the boy had volunteered to retrieve Max. Rena Rouge had gone with him in case Eris showed up, while Carapace accompanied him to retrieve Queen Bee.

Chloe was waiting for them on the roof of her hotel. "I was hoping you might come by."

Cat Noir grinned. "It's rather late out, isn't it? Were you hoping for a moonlight rendezvous?"

Carapace swatted him over the shoulder. "Not the time, dude." He tossed Chloe the box containing the Bee Miraculous. "This akuma's pretty strong. We're gonna need a lot of help."

Chloe nodded and fixed the comb into her hair, remarkably serious. "You get anyone else?"

"Roi Singe and Rena Rouge went to get Pegase. The three of them are getting Bunnyx, next."

"Who's Bunnyx?"

Cat Noir groaned. "Right, you don't know. I'll explain on the way. Right now, we need to get Viperion."

"I'm right behind you. Pollen, Buzz On!"

…

Kagami heard a thump at her window before it opened, and an akumatized Marinette came in. "Marinette. I heard you'd been akumatized."

Eris smiled. "I see word travels fast."

Kagami squeezed the hilt of her saber. "I highly doubt I've recently done something to wrong you. What is the reason for this... visit?"

Eris slumped into the chair Kagami kept in her room. "Long story short, the heroes are after me, and I need people I can trust."

Kagami blinked, then put down her saber, feeling... relatively certain that Marinette wouldn't hurt her.

Then the girl spilled out her story, and Kagami was furious. "Oh, if I get my hands on Agreste-!"

Eris waved her hand idly. "Don't bother. Once I've won and I rule Paris, I'm gonna set him up with Lila. A bully and an enabler."

Kagami snorted. "A match made in heaven, to be sure. But why are you here?"

"I need people I can trust on my side, because Cat Noir's definitely getting more heroes to fight me."

Kagami at once stood up. "I'm with you, Marinette."

Eris blinked a few times. "Wow. I was not expecting it to be that easy."

Kagami shrugged. "My options are my friend or the heroes. You're the one I've got the most loyalty too."

"Would it help if I mentioned Alya is Rena Rouge?"

Kagami was still for a moment. Then: "What?"

Eris began rattling off names. "Nino is Carapace, Kim is Roi Singe, Max is Pegase..."

"You're Ladybug, aren't you."

Eris didn't bother to deny it. "How'd you find out?"

"How else would you know the identities of every hero Ladybug's ever chosen?"

Eris grinned. "Fair. So, what do you say, Kagami?" She held out a dagger. "Are you with me?"

"I've already decided whose side I'm on. The information you've just given me only strengthens my commitment."

Eris wordlessly handed her blade over. Kagami took it, and the purple fire exploded around her.

The last thing she heard before she started screaming was, "Welcome to Team Eris, Nemesis."

…

Juleka was running. Normally, this would be a reaction to an akumatized villain.

But Marinette was akumatized, and the heroes hadn't confirmed she wasn't yet.

So why was she running, you ask? Because a horrible, terrifying presence was in her home. A haunting voice was filling the halls, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from.

_"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the baddest of them all?"_

She bumped into something, then looked at what she'd hit, and could only let out a scream before golden light consumed her.

Apollo leaned down and picked up the purple guitar pick sporting an image of his sister's terrified face. He smirked. _"Welcome to my wicked world."_

…

Cat Noir landed outside the Couffaine houseboat, which was strangely silent. His entourage of six heroes followed behind him, Bunnyx having Burrowed Rena's group there before quickly recharging Fluff.

He looked at the others. "Get ready for a fight. Something here feels wrong."

"How perceptive, Kitty!"

Cat Noir looked up startled to see Marinette standing on the boat's deck alongside three other mysterious figures. "Marinette, what are you doing here?"

Marinette smirked coldly. "Oh, I hope you didn't need Juleka or Luka for anything! After all, poor Juleka's indisposed, and Luka is... otherwise occupied."

The tallest of the shadowy figures stepped forwards so that the streetlights could illuminate him, then looked up, gold facepaint doing next to nothing to conceal his identity. He held up a purple guitar pick so that the heroes could see it.

Cat Noir let out a gasp of horror. Luka was holding up the guitar pick that undoubtedly used to be his sister.

Rena was the first to speak, though. "Seriously, Marinette?! You mind controlled him into turning his sister into a pick?! What is wrong with you?!"

Luka glared. "I might ask you the same question, Rena Rouge."

The next figure stepped forwards. A motorcycle helmet was covering his head, but he removed it, revealing his features. Bunnyx let out a soft murmur of, "Marc?"

He glared. "It's Prometheus to you."

The final one stepped forwards, and Cat Noir was the one in shock. "Kagami?"

The girl had shed her blazer and tie, and the rest of her outfit had turned jet black with blue details. She was wearing armor similar to the rest of them, and wielded a really sharp-looking blade. "Nemesis, Cat Noir. I'd say it's a pleasure, but I'd be lying."

Luka snorted. "Make me do it? Please. I did it myself. She shouldn't have betrayed Eris the way she did. Oh, and the name's Apollo."

Eris spread all four arms wide. "As you can see, Cat Noir, I did a little recruiting!"

All four villains stepped forwards, preparing themselves for battle.

Cat Noir twirled his baton. "Don't worry! They're outnumbered! We can take them!"

Nemesis tightened her grip on her blade. "Outnumbered, maybe, but definitely not outmatched."

Eris grinned, her hands lighting up with dark energy. "Let's see how long you last!"

**…**

**And... tadah! One of Eris's mystery powers is giving people powers! Hawk Moth made her really powerful, didn't he?**

**I chose to make Marc Prometheus because... well, I couldn't find anything else that sounded cool, and Prometheus is for some reason in the same category as literally every arts and crafts deity in mythology.**

**Huh, more than 3000 words. More than usual.**

**That's pretty much all I can say at the moment (Sorry again for the late update), so until next time, stay tuned!**

**Next chapter: The Battle**


	5. I Fight A Zoo Of Superheroes

**We're back! **

**Note: I'm not sure whether or not I should make Marinette win and take her revenge on everyone, or lose and become deakumatized. Since I value the opinions of the readers, please leave your vote in my poll! Or the comments section, I really don't care which.**

**Note: I lost a bet with my Pokemon, so they're conducting my next Author's Note, and answer all your reviews and questions from Chapter 4 and this one. They're also making me translate.**

**…**

Right away when the battle started, Eris's group began splitting up the heroes. Prometheus conjured a boxing glove that knocked Bunnyx through a conjured portal, before jumping through one himself, Apollo happily blasted a soundwave that sent Rena Rouge flying, and when the heroes tried to stop him from pursuing the fox heroine, Nemesis bowled them over, engaging Roi Singe and Queen Bee with her very long, very sharp sword.

This left Cat Noir, Pegase, and Carapace facing Eris.

Pegase smirked confidently. "I estimate we have a 89.2% chance of winning. Surrender now and save us the trouble."

Eris unsheathed her sword, holding it in her upper pair of arms, while selecting a pair of knives for her lower ones. "Estimates aren't definites. Besides, it still means I've got a 10.8% chance of winning, and for me, that's plenty of wiggle room."

Cat Noir held out his hands pleadingly. "Marinette, please just give us the akuma. Everyone's worried about you. Your best friend, Alya-"

Eris snarled, her face contorting from confidence to fury. "That *censored* is not my friend! _And my name is Eris!_"

She hurled herself off the houseboat's deck, slamming her fist into Cat Noir's solar plexus, before spinning to block an attack from Carapace. Her horns shifted, now pointing straight up to the sky. Power began rushing through them, and a few sparks of purple electricity popped off the tips. _I'm not gonna have enough power for rapid firing, but if I can get a clear shot, we'll be one hero down._

Pegase threw a punch at her, but seeing as she was, you know, _Ladybug, _she easily deflected the strike, then lashed out with her sword, only for Cat Noir to parry her. "Urgh! Stupid cat! Let me-"

Carapace sprang on her with a yell, and she got her opportunity. Her horns sparked again, and she fired.

…

Apollo smirked as Rena Rouge let out a scream of frustration. The fox heroine was continually trying to pounce on him and pin him down, but was failing miserably because he kept blasting her away with bursts of sound, and just to be more annoying, he wouldn't stop using the G Minor chord.

The girl sprang at him again, and he allowed her to get within two feet of him before blasting her away. "You do realize I'm just toying with you at this point, right?"

Rena roared. "That does it! Mirage!"

Not bothering with the little flute tune she normally did, she slammed her weapon on the ground and created approximately ninety million copies of herself- completely overkill- all of which lunged.

Apollo smirked. "Huh, I don't know which one to hit."

He closed both his hands around the neck of his guitar, lifting it above his head. "I guess I'll have to hit 'em all!"

He slammed the instrument onto the ground, and the resulting sound wave blasted in every direction. It was weaker than his ordinary sound blasts, but it successfully wiped out the Rena clones, and stunned the real one, who clapped her hands over her ears and screamed.

Apollo began walking towards the heroine, who was too busy shaking off the sonic attack, until she looked up at him, turning suddenly pale.

"You know, I was just gonna knock you out, but I think this'll be more satisfying."

She was halfway through some kind of movement- either yelling, or hitting him with her flute- but golden light sprang from his guitar strings and wrapped around her, shrinking her down into a triangular shape.

He picked up the orange pick before it fell on the ground, smirking at Rena Rouge's face, looking rather frightened. "Shame I can't keep you like this, but Eris is gonna need you for a thing."

…

Prometheus was finding his job of defeating Bunnyx rather easy. Of course, it helped that she could only Burrow once, and that he could apparently reuse words if he wrote them on paper.

Sure, the word 'fire' faded after he'd launched about a dozen fireballs at her, but it was better than having to write it in the air and only get one shot.

Bunnyx backflipped over another attack. "Marc, you gotta stop this! What would Nathaniel think?"

Prometheus snorted. "Who cares? I dropped him."

Bunnyx actually stopped moving for a second. "What the- why the hell would you drop Nath?! You two were happy!"

Prometheus scribbled a quick word on his vambrace, snarling out his answer. "Because I couldn't trust him anymore! Marinette's done so much for you guys! She made that banner for your race with Kim! Hell, she even helped Nath and I get together! And you guys all turned on her in the space of three weeks! If you turn on Marinette that easily, what chance will I have when Lila decides Nath is spending too much time with me instead of being her lackey?!"

"What do you mean, we turned on Marinette?!"

Then Bunnyx paled. "_You know who we are?! How?!_"

Prometheus hurled another fireball, which she dodged. "We asked Ladybug very nicely." _No need to mention that Ladybug is the one who's akumatized. Better to let her mind run wild and come up with her own conclusions._

Bunnyx predictably gasped. "You guys- Marinette actually- I-"

She held out her hand, calling out, "Burrow!", and Prometheus tapped his pen against the bright red letters on his armor, flicking the word straight at the portal. _Please hit, please hit, please hit..._

His aim was perfect. The portal turned red as Bunnyx dove into it, then began distorting like it was made out of pixels, until it finally collapsed on itself.

Prometheus smirked, remembering the exact word he'd just flung: _Unstable. _Who knew where that portal had taken her?

He tapped a hand to the side of his helmet, absentmindedly noting that it was a good idea for Eris to have given them ear communicators. "Eris, Bunnyx just got her portal screwed with, and now she's who knows where and when. Should I come help you?"

"Nah, Apollo's on his way. You see if Nemesis needs help-"

**"This is Nemesis. Queen Bee and Roi Singe are currently running terrified from an army of swords. Given that I don't have any popcorn, I'm heading to Eris's position.**"

"Uh... in that case, Prometheus, proceed to my location. I've taken care of Carapace, but Pegase's holding his own, and Cat Noir is weirdly ticked off."

"Understood. Heading your way."

…

Nemesis idly noted that, being outnumbered, the heroes were probably hoping to defeat her and help their companions, especially since she had sword, and most sword-wielding akumas were melee fighters because Hawk Moth was stupid.

So it was pretty satisfying to see their faces when she slashed her blade through the air and sent out an wave of energy towards them.

Roi Singe was sent flying, but Queen Bee managed to jump over her attack and send out her trompo, wrapping it around her blade, and ripping it out.

Well, at least Nemesis let her _think _that. She wasn't about to leave herself weaponless.

Queen Bee cackled delightedly. "Hah! You're defenceless! What do you have to say about that?!"

Nemesis rolled her eyes, holding out her hand and conjuring blue mist that solidified into sharp steel, holding a replica of her stolen sword in a matter of seconds. "Would you like to take another one? I assure you, it won't help."

More blue mist flowed off her body, solidifying into about two dozen swords exactly like the one she was holding, floating in the air as though waiting for instruction.

She released the one she was holding, and it floated to her side like it was held by an invisible wielder standing at attention.

Queen Bee turned pale. "Um, can't we talk this out like sensible people?"

Nemesis shrugged. "You started this." She snapped her fingers, and the swords all pointed straight at the heroes. "Are we ready, gentlemen? Pret, allez!"

She didn't even have to lift a finger to send the two heroes running for their lives, screaming as her swords chased them.

She watched for a while, then radioed that she was heading to Eris's position once she got bored.

…

Marinette's shot from her horns launched a burst of crackling purple lighting that wrapped around Carapace, and left him frozen in midair. A purple glow emanated from his body, and sparks of purple light occasionally danced across him.

His chest didn't move.

Cat Noir gaped in shock at Carapace- Nino, his best friend- who wasn't moving, and turned on Marinette in a sudden fury. "_What did you do?!_"

Marinette snorted dismissively. "Relax, kitty. He's just immobilized. I'm not gonna _kill _him... yet..."

All Cat Noir could think of was that Marinette had just said she was going to kill Nino. He completely forgot that Marinette didn't, in fact, know that Carapace was Nino.

He let out a snarl, summoning Cataclysm, and charging, aiming to disintegrate Marinette's sword and kill the akuma, not caring that there was no Ladybug to purify it.

And he charged facefirst into a brick wall.

Prometheus lowered his pen, smirking. "Huh, I didn't think that would work!"

Nemesis rolled her eyes. "Seriously, that only should have worked in a cartoon or a fanfiction."

A portal popped into existence, but Apollo was happy to blast Pegase back into it.

Cat Noir dazedly peeled himself off the wall, then realized which hand he'd touched it with when it began to crumble. _A rookie mistake now of all times?!_

Eris smirked. "That was fun." Her hand lit up with dark energy. "But all good things must come to an end."

She fired, and all Cat Noir could think was _pain. _

When the dark laser stopped, he managed to see Marinette walking through a red portal, smirking wickedly at him.

Then Queen Bee walked into his view. "C'mon, Cat Noir. We need to discuss our losses."

Upon hearing this, Cat Noir struggled to his feet, terrified of what he might hear.

…

Hiding in Eris's bedroom, the four villains toasted their success with some hot chocolate. Eris grinned widely. "All right, let's review our progress. Bunnyx is lost who knows where and when, Apollo captured Rena Rouge, and we haven't suffered any injuries or setbacks whatsoever!"

Apollo took the two people-turned-picks out of his pocket, setting them on Marinette's desk. "What do we do with them?"

Eris shrugged. "If there aren't any objections, I'm gonna put daggers in them and trap them in Personal Hell."

Nemesis blinked a few times. "Is that seriously the name of your sword?"

Prometheus shrugged. "It fits."

Apollo bit his lip, picking up the Juleka pick and turning it over in his fingers. "Actually, I'd like to have a... chat with her first."

Eris shrugged again "Well, I'm gonna yell at Alya for a bit, so it's only fair. Anyone else we should kidnap so long as we're talking to people we're disappointed in?"

"Nathaniel."

"Adrien."

Eris shook her head. "We can definitely do Nathaniel, but I wanna wait to do Adrien. Lila's lies aren't hurting anyone? I want to take _everything _away from him for that. Heck, I'll bet he _knew _Lila was hurting me, and he just didn't consider me _human _enough to stop her."

Nemesis shook her head. "No. He's just been raised to be nice. Nice enough to value a random girl over his actual friend."

"Whatever his reasoning. I want him to suffer the longest before I trap him in Personal Hell."

"Seriously, that's the name of your sword?!"

Prometheus simply snickered. "Alright, I'll go kidnap Nathaniel. Apollo, you wanna help?"

The oldest of them stood up from his chair. "Yeah, I'm in."

…

Cat Noir sighed as he addressed his fellow heroes. "Alright. As it stands, we aren't doing well. We thought we could beat them, but we obviously need more heroes. Bunnyx and Rena Rouge are both missing, and Roi Singe has a few broken ribs. So, we need to address these."

He held up the remainder of the Miraculouses. "We need to hand these out to people we can trust. I'm gonna give one to everybody here, and I'll take two since we-"

A Burrow portal opened, and Bunnyx sprang through, gasping. "Guys! They have Ladybug captive! Prometheus said so! Also, it's really hard to steal carrots during the Renaissance!"

Cat Noir was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed. "All right. We'll try to pinpoint their location and rescue Ladybug. But first, we need to try and find Rena Rouge, and we need to hand out these Miraculous."

He walked around the room, handing them out. "Find a person you trust and give them this. We're going to need as much help as we can get. Bunnyx, go recharge Fluff."

He pocketed the Pig Miraculous and sprang out the window, not bothering to watch the other heroes move to carry out his orders.

…

Nathaniel was taking a walk outside, admittedly a little rattled by Marinette turning up as an akuma, and heartbroken from the text Marc had sent him, not understanding why his boyfriend was breaking up with him.

Then something gripped him around the shoulder, and Marc's voice whispered creepily in his ear, "Hey, Nath. Can we talk?"

A flash of golden light blazed through the entirety of his vision, and he knew no more, oblivious to the guitar pick he'd been turned into falling into Prometheus's palm.

**…**

**And... that sums it up. Yes, I totally ship Marc and Nathaniel, but I sadly had to break them up here. I promise I didn't like it, but it's gonna be mentioned in Prometheus's confrontation with him.**

**Yes, when Adrien gets brought in, Nemesis is gonna have more than a few words to say to our stupid, stupid rich boy. Seriously, I'm pretty sure half of what Chloe was doing was sexual harassment, and he just tolerated it. Good grief!**

**Note: After I finish this fic, I'm considering doing one where Marinette is Hawk Moth, except she's akumatizing people to 'reveal who they really are'. Wonder if Lila had something to do with that motive? What do you guys think? Should I write it?**

**That's all for now. Until next time, stay tuned- _Wait, Harmony I still have to- AUGH! Not the Ice Beam!_**

**Next chapter: The Anger**


	6. I Torture My Ex-BFF

**Alright... as mentioned, I'm really sorry about the disastrous Pokemon takeover from last chapter. They won't be doing it again, _isn't that right guys._**

**Melody: Yep!**

**Harmony: Uh-Huh!**

**Crescendo: Certainly!**

**Forte: Meh.**

**Tempo: *snickers***

**Rhythm: Yeah, don't trust a word out of our mouths.**

**Oh, let's just get on with it... also, I'm sorry this isn't completely finished. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I didn't have Wi-Fi for most of yesterday (I do all my writing on the mobile app), so I couldn't actually write this thing. I've got Wi-Fi now though, so I'll upload the rest of this chapter by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. (Side note: I'm a liar, don't trust me)**

**Note: For those who are questioning why Nathaniel is so stupid in his scene, here's my reasoning: The class has spent so long believing**** everything coming out of Lila's mouth that she could say she... I dunno, zip-lined from the peak of Mount Everest to Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland, and they'd probably drink it right up, because what reason would Lila have to lie to them?**

**Note: I'm gonna try to finish this fic by August 19, because I'm going to have to take a week's hiatus at that time, seeing as I won't have Wi-Fi unless I miraculously (oh that was bad) end up in a Starbucks for three hours.**

**…**

Eris idly tapped her fingers on her thigh. "Right. Thanks to Prometheus, we've got some spare room, so... Apollo, you take Juleka in that one, and Prometheus, you take Nath in the other one. I've got Rena."

The boys nodded and walked into the designated rooms, while Eris remained outside.

Nemesis frowned. "Something wrong?"

Eris nodded. "Yeah, just a thought... I'm giving you a side job."

She began whispering in the other girl's ear, and Nemesis's face curled into a smirk.

…

Nathaniel blinked, shaking his head to clear spots from his vision. Then he noticed Marc, looking like the akumatized Marinette had, glaring at him. "Marc? What- what am I doing here?"

"Because of your misdeeds. Do you regret what you did to Marinette?"

Nathaniel frowned. "What do you mean, what I did? Marinette deserved it! She was bullying Lila! She threatened Lila in the bathroom and said she'd take all Lila's friends away!"

Marc snorted. "Lila, Lila, Lila! This isn't about her, this is about Marinette! Didn't you remember all the good things she did for you? She helped Ladybug and Cat Noir deakumatize you! She always lent a hand in art club whenever you asked her! Hell, she helped us get together! Lila was lying from the beginning!"

Nathaniel shook his head. "No! I'm not believing a word out of your mouth! Marinette's just making you say what she wants you to say, and I know the truth! Marinette's just jealous that Lila likes Adrien, and that she's done so many great things!"

Marc actually looked more angry at that- Marinette's control must have stretched pretty deep. "Such as? What'd she say to get _you _on her side?"

"What do you mean? She's only told me about all the amazing things she did! She's done charity work with Prince Ali, personally assisted in the construction of an orphanage, led a rally for the protection of a nearly extinct race of penguins, and she's babyiksat Van Gogh's great-great-great-granddaughter! She offered to tell all the famous people she knows about how great I am at creating artwork! She even designed Jagged Stone's latest album!"

Marc stared for a total of ten silent seconds. Then, "You mean the one Marinette designed?"

Nathaniel laughed. "Seriously? That wasn't hers! Lila's so nice, she designed it for Marinette, and let her take the credit!"

Marc groaned and removed a pen from his pocket. "Okay, I've had enough."

Nathaniel blinked. "What's that supposed to-" Red ink splashed over his mouth, and he suddenly found he couldn't speak.

"Oh, that's so much better. Now, Nathaniel, let's see what Eris has to say to you..."

…

Juleka groaned as she came to, the first thing she noticed being Luka, affected by Marinette's akuma somehow. "L-Luka? What's going on?"

Luka let out a sigh. "Tell me, Juleka. If you realized that somebody did something completely horrible to turn you against one of your friends, what would you do?"

"I-I'd try to make it up to them! What k-kind of question is t-that?"

Luka shrugged. "Well, in that case... Lila was lying about everything because she doesn't like Marinette and wanted to ruin her life."

Juleka stared for a moment. Then tears began welling up in her eyes. "You m-mean that every time..."

"Yep."

"And we a-all..."

"Yep."

Juleka let out a few gasps. "What have we done?"

Luka shrugged. "Betrayed Marinette, gotten her akumatized, and got yourself, Nathaniel, and Alya held hostage by her?"

Juleka covered her eyes and began to cry.

…

Rena Rouge was awakened by her Miraculous beeping, and when she opened her eyes, she spotted a glowing purple sword-tip placed against the center of her necklace. Orange light was being siphoned from it, and four bars were already gone.

She looked up and let out a yell when she saw who was holding the blade. "Marnette?! What are you doing!"

Marinette groaned. "Alya, will you please shut up? I'm trying to run down your transformation without hurting Trixx, and that takes a lot of patience- aha! Got it!"

Rena's eyes widened in horror as her Miraculous beeped again, and orange light whirled around her, an exhausted Kwami falling into Marinette's hand, leaving powerless Alya staring at her. The girl tried to grab the little fox, but quickly realized her wrists were chained to the arms of the chair she was in.

"Hello, Trixx."

Marinette's sword, still glowing, was tapped against Trixx's chest, and the Kwami let out a scream as he shattered into bits of orange light, absorbed into the tip of the weapon.

Marinette grinned wickedly. "Let's see if this works... Mirage!"

An orange ball of light flared to life, erupting from her blade, soaring to the other side of the room before taking shape- Adrien Agreste, wrapped up in chains and struggling to get out of them. The image looked malnourished.

"Oh, _that's_ how you do it. I didn't exactly expect it to look like that, but _dang, _I can't wait until I can do that!"

Alya growled. "What the heck are you doing?! I'm trying to help you! Why am I tied up?!"

Marinette snorted. "Help me? When it was so _selfish _of me to become an akuma in the first place? Speaking of which, care explaining that to me?"

Alya was officially ticked. Marinette was pretending not to know why she shouldn't be akumatized? She'd tell her. "You're supposed to be happy and cheerful and generous! You always help people after they have problems! You aren't supposed to be negative enough to be akumatized!"

Marinette looked stunned for a moment. Then she glared at Alya furiously. "So what?! I'm not allowed to be upset?! I'm not allowed to put my feelings first?! I'm not allowed to care about myself instead of everyone else?! People are allowed to have dimensions, Alya! It's not always black and white!"

She held up her sword. "I thought you were my friend. I thought I could trust you. But now that you've betrayed me, let's see how you like it!"

She lashed out, stabbing into both Alya's ribs with a dagger- Alya let out a gasp of pain- and the jewels in both hilts began to glow. Then the glowing purple blade came down, and Alya was gone.

…

Eris exited the interrogation room, letting out a breath. Prometheus was standing there already, Nathaniel wrapped up to his neck in chains, the word 'silent' plastered across his mouth. Apollo was the last to appear, holding a sobbing Juleka close.

Prometheus raised an eyebrow. "Why is she not a guitar pick?"

Apollo shrugged. "She regrets her actions now that she knows the truth. I figured Eris could judge her."

Eris looked over at the sobbing Juleka- and those tears couldn't be faked. Juleka really was devastated that she'd betrayed her friend. "She's spared."

Juleka let out a gasp, then dashed over to Eris, squeezing her in a hug, her sobs even louder. "I-I'm s-s-sorry! I-If I'd k-k-known-"

Eris smiled sadly. "Lila's good at what she does. You wouldn't have known unless I had irrefutable evidence, which she would've found a way to disprove."

Juleka let out a few more gasps, before she began to calm down. "S-so... c-can I h-help?"

Eris was stunned for a moment, then she raised an eyebrow. "You actually want to help me?"

Juleka's eyes hardened, containing a terrifying amount of venom. Her voice was still shaky, but it had a steely edge. "I-I've seen m-my e-errors, b-but I d-don't think a-anyone else w-will. They're a-all to f-focused on w-what L-Lila could h-have given them. T-they w-won't want t-to l-let go of that."

Eris rubbed her chin with one hand, scratched an itch on her back with another one, and unsheathed a dagger with a third. "Honestly, I'm not even that mad at Lila. I did everything I could for them, poured my heart and soul into everything I created for them, and the moment someone who can give them more comes along, I'm discarded like I'm worthless."

She chuckled bitterly. "The whole time, I was trying to expose the truth about Lila so she couldn't hurt them, and she was the one who exposed them for what they were. So now, I won't let them hurt me- no. I won't let them hurt _anyone _ever again."

Juleka stared, then a slow smile came over her face. "Again, can I help?"

Eris rolled her eyes. "Ugh. _Fiiiine. _Just grab the dagger and suffer through excruciatingly hellish pain for half a minute."

Juleka's lips curled upwards. "I suppose that's my punishment?"

Eris held out the knife, and the last Juleka heard before purple fire consumed her was, "I supposed you could put it that way."

…

Nemesis sprang nimbly across the rooftops of Paris, scouring for any kind of hint. Perhaps a butterfly going back to its master, a window opening to reveal someone in purple, a shred of a monologue about the Miraculous carried on the wind. Eris had trusted her to locate Hawk Moth, and she was going to do it. Enough people had failed her friend, and she wasn't about to add herself to that list.

Then a flash of lightning crashed down from the sky- the _cloudless _sky, mind you, and solidified into a person who was clearly wielding the Dragon Miraculous. Blonde hair with red and black streaks, a suit similar to what she had worn as Ryuko, and wristbands coloured blue, grey, and yellow. The yellow faded, allowing Nemesis to realize that it was the signifier of her transformations.

She materialized a hatchet in both hands, twirling them menacingly. "Well, well, well. They found a replacement for Ryuko. I wonder what her name is?"

The heroine pointed her blade at her foe. "The name's Red Storm, and I'll be the one taking you down!"

Red Storm charged, slashing wildly- Nemesis could easily avoid this, given her experience with fencing. Red Storm was nowhere near as proficient as her mother, or even A*rien. And great, she was mentally censoring him now. Her thoughts might have been more influenced by Eris's powers than she'd anticipated.

And speaking of influence, maybe she could get into this hero's head. And what better way to mock her than by criticizing her technique?

She dodged another flurry of stabs. "Hmm. Sloppy stance, terrible aim, are you even _trying _to stay balanced? Good grief, I've seen normal people better than you. Heck, I've seen _preschoolers _with twice the discipline you _should _have!"

Nemesis expected it to take more insults, but she overestimated Red Storm's tolerance for insults.

The hero let out a shriek of rage. "Water Dragon!"

Her form dissolved into water, and Nemesis smirked. _Gotcha._

She inhaled once, then breathed out, and razor sharp blades sprang from her skin until she was bristling like a porcupine, launching into a quick spin that sliced through the water, breaking the heroine into little puddles all across the rooftop. She knew from experience it would take a while for her to pull herself together.

Nemesis sighed. "I don't know if you're still conscious, but when you'll be able to regain your form. It'll take a while though."

She never knew that droplets of water could radiate so much killing intent.

"Now then... he's probably got a lair somewhere, so I should search some bigger buildings. Plus he's male, so maybe I can narrow my search that way..."

She let out a breath, then began sprinting across the rooftops again, Red Storm's watery body the only evidence that any sort of confrontation had happened there.

**…**

**And, we've got a new Dragon hero! Reader points go to whoever predicts her identity, even though I made it kind of obvious!**

**Also I still need ideas for the Goat and Pig Miraculous powers, pls help me.**

**Next Chapter: The Discovery**


	7. I Don't Know Why This Chapter Is Tiny

**Due to some reviews (You, leafgreenflower, Guest Reviewer #4), I've finally gotten ideas for the Pig and Goat powers, so I can feature them in this chapter! Also, thanks to AgresteBug, I've got the Ox Miraculous Superpower set up! Thanks, all three**** of you!**

**And that's all I have to say at the moment, so... on with the show!**

**Responding to reviews:**

**Guest #1: Duly noted, sorry for the inconvenience.**

**Shrouded Absol: And... winner! Seven reader points to Shrouded Absol- I have no idea what I'm gonna do with these. Maybe I'll put up a wall of fame on my profile or something.**

**Starwings2Night: Hmm... you still got it, so five reader points- yes, I'm actually keeping track of these! Sadly, I'm not giving Ondine a Miraculous, because I honestly don't think there's anything that suits her. Maybe the Goat Miraculous, but I'm trying to bring Ivan and Mylene into the story somehow, so I'm definitely gonna have to keep some Miraculous in reserve... I should make a list of who I've already bumped off.**

**Guest #2: I'm not sure what to do with Juleka- I'm torn between Artemis, Nyx, and Akhlys. Probably Nyx, though. She won't be the only one, but there'll only be three of them- maybe four, if an Erized Chloe (I tried to come up with something for the giving-people-powers thing and that's the only name I thought sounded cool) manages to convince Sabrina to join them- but only I know if that'll happen. Hehehehe...**

**HeredemAquam: Two reader points, because you provided reasons why it could be anyone _other _than Aurore, and I can appreciate that. But Dragon Miraculous Chloe... Hmm, there's an idea.**

**Sagittarius no Liz: Absolutely yes, no one's better than Kagami (cough except Dragonbug cough), and I get your reasons for Juleka not helping. Would it help if I said she wasn't doing much in battle besides long distance sniping?**

**QueenBookDragon: I have knowledge. I use knowledge.**

**Guest #3: I'm saving that for the chapter after this one. Let's see who's in Personal Hell: Nathaniel, Alya, Lila, Caline Bustier (we already got her though), and Trixx (Not really, but we'll tackle _that _next chapter too). Probably more after this chapter.**

**leafgreenflower: Maybe not finding things, cause I've got that set for the Dog Miraculous, but that escape artist thing...**

**Guest #4: Yeah, I saw some fanart of Rose as a Pig, and I liked it. The innocence powers makes sense considering I'm giving it to her... idea time, but it's a secret for now.**

**Note: _I still need ideas for the _****_Tiger Miraculous, please help._**

**…**

Eris cackled with glee as she dashed across the rooftops, Artemis following in her wake. She'd given Juleka all the powers she thought would fit, and she'd taken to them like a fish to water.

Then a frisbee zipped in front of her face, Eris barely stopping before it hit her face.

She looked over and saw a girl in a pink suit with pig ears sticking up from her blond, pink-streaked pixie cut. "S-stop where y-you are! I-I'll s-stop you if y-you don't!"

Eris blinked a few times. Then she turned casually to Artemis with a shrug. "So, how do you want to do this?"

The Pig heroine stared blankly. "W-what?"

Artemis shrugged. "Stutter suggests she might have a lack of confidence. Likely, another hero told her what she was supposed to do, Roi Singe probably told her to act brave, and it's coming out as bluster she can't back up."

Eris snickered. "Dang, I didn't know you could analyze people that well!"

"Comes with staying in the background."

The heroine raised her weapon in what was likely supposed to be threatening, but looked more like a four-year-old holding up a drawing to show their mommy. "H-hey! I'm s-still threatening you-"

Artemis held up her hand, fingers imitating a shotgun, and blasted the heroine with a beam of silvery light. Then she lifted her smoking fingers and blew on them with a satisfied smirk. "That's one thing Apollo can't do."

The heroine sprang forwards, her eyes glowing pink as she grabbed Eris's forehead with one of her hands, the other hurling her frisbee again to distract Artemis. "Empathy Match!"

Eris gasped as her eyes lit up purple, before... whatever her name was's eyes lit up the same colour. The heroine was frozen for a moment, before she let out a gasp of pure horror. Tears began falling from her eyes. "Oh my- Marinette-"

Her frisbee soared back towards her, but she ignored it as it fell to the ground. "Snout Off."

The Miraculous gleamed and released Daizzi into the air, a ripple of pink light washing over the girl to reveal Rose Lavillant.

Eris's sword instantly lit up purple. "Alright, you're done-"

A rod of silver light caught the sword before it could absorb Rose, the end of it firmly in Artemis's hand. "Wait, Eris. Do you really think she's gonna do anything in that state? She might be repentant like I was."

Eris nodded and sheathed Personal Hell, before smirking teasingly. "And you like her?"

Artemis lit up bright red- actually glowing red, not just blushing. "Shut up!"

Eris chuckled, then walked over to Rose, carefully blanking her face of expression. "So, Miss Lavillant. To what do I-"

Rose burst into sobs and pulled her into a hug, gasping out shaking apologies, and one or more disturbing threats towards Lila.

Eris sighed. "I guess we're going to have to talk about this. Author, can you move on to a scene with Nemesis? I don't want me being mushy recorded."

…

Nemesis had still been looking for Hawk Moth when she'd been attacked and had to spring out of the way. Mist sprang from her hands, creating a pair of Roman short swords. She twirled them threateningly as Roi Singe and Pegase sprang onto the roof, grinning like maniacs. "We've got you now!"

Then they faltered, Roi Singe frowning. "You aren't Marinette! Storm, you said that this was Marinette!"

Nemesis spun just in time to block the dragon hero's sword strike. "You didn't tell me there was more than one of them! I thought that if there was multiple, they had to have the same object!"

Pegase nodded, clearly crunching numbers already. "Well, given that the Sapotis all wore propeller hats, and Oblivio was two people in a single body...

Nemesis raised her hand and fired a throwing knife, forcing the hero to spring out of the way as combat commenced in earnest. She continued sending them flying at the heroes with one hand, the other reaching under the collar of her shirt to tap the necklace she'd been concealing- Eris had been clever, providing them with communication devices. "Guys, I'm under attack and outnumbered. I need backup, ASAP."

Then she had to block Red Storm's sudden attack, so she didn't know if anyone had responded.

All she could do was hope she wouldn't be outmatched.

And then she didn't have to hope for anything, because literally five seconds later, a vortex opened midair, spilling out Prometheus and Apollo. Another one opened on the other side of the roof they were on, and Eris and Artemis emerged, followed by a new, shorter figure with pink highlights.

Roi Singe's eyes widened in horror. "Wait, Rose-"

Eris fired blasts from her hands, and all three heroes were sent flying off the roof.

Nemesis snapped her fingers, taking command of the situation. "Alright, look alive, people! Artemis, Apollo, you two take Roi Singe! Eris, you and the new girl take Pegase! Prometheus, you help me take Red Storm!"

Her comrades all nodded, even their leader obeying her, and they lept off the roof, aiming for the heroes below.

**…**

**Ugh. I'm sorry this is so short, but it's been ages since my last update, and I wanted to assure you all that I'm not dead. Or sick. Or having another operation. Next chapter (plus fight scene, which I'm bad at writing) should be out... sometime this week, so until then, please stay tuned.**

**Next chapter: The Capture**


	8. My Friends Fight My Friends

**It took _foreeeeeeever _to come up with Rose's identity. I've decided to not go with Charis, because I read Rick Riordan again, and wanted to go with Psyche. Also, I've decided not to redeem Chloe, because I just remembered how easily Liela fooled her into believing her in Miraculeur (Dang, Sabrina was cool in that one). And with that out of the way, on with the show! No, Cadence, you can't type anything. Down, girl.**

**Note: Sorry this took so long. But... for the foreseeable future, MY HIATUS IS OVER! I am INSPIRED again! Mainly because the rest of Season Three is coming out pretty soon, and Pokemon Sword and Shield come out pretty soon, so voila! Chapter! Also, this story should be finished faster since I'm working solely on this for the month of November.**

**Note: The next one will still take a while, because I have to edit a bunch of names, though I still think Roi Singe sounded cooler than King Monkey. Seriously, did they even put any effort into naming Kim? ...well, it could have been worse, I suppose...**

**Responding to reviews:**

**Everyone who thought**** I was dead: Trust me, I've put way to much work into this thing to quit now. This story will be finished, even if I have to drag myself kicking and screaming over to my computer to type it! Also this is the last response I'm doing, because it takes up far too much of my writing time. Questions will be answered via PM.**

**…**

Eris checked her energy stocks- she'd have enough for this confrontation, assuming she wouldn't need to create another portal. Psyche landed beside her, raising her hands.

Pegasus smirked. "You cannot defeat me with only a pair of your forces. I estimate I shall be able to cleanse Rose of your influence and escalate wit her before you can do anything to stop me."

Eris raised an eyebrow. "Is that a fact?"

Pegasus lunged, confident smirk still on his face, fist ready to throw a punch- and bounced off a bright pink shield that popped into existence.

The horse hero sputtered in shock. "Why does she get shield powers?! How is that fair?!"

Eris rolled her eyes and blasted him into a light pole. "All's fair in love and war, moron. Psyche, be a dear and box him in?"

Pink shields materialized around them, Psyche carefully moving her hands to control the rectangular projections. Pegasus was on the move in an instant, trying to avoid the trap.

Oh well. At least Eris got to shoot him with laser beams.

…

Artemis and Apollo were doing quite well against King Monkey. Mainly because he was a melee fighter, and they were ranged attackers, but unfair advantage aside...

King Monkey roared in frustration. "Just! Let me! Hit you!"

Artemis blasted a ray of silver light at him. "Yeah, how 'bout no?"

"Juleka, enough! I don't wanna fight you! Just let me help you see sense! Marinette's just a bully!"

Artemis's next blast was far more destructive. "Shut up! This is war, not negotiations! Apollo, restrain him, will you?"

Apollo smirked beside her, then blasted a soundwave, knocking the hero back across the block. "No problem."

Then they saw his staff spin into the air and heard a yell of, "Uproar!"

A bow and quiver of arrows fell into his hands, and with a smirk, King Monkey began firing, ignoring the first beep of his circlet.

Winning suddenly got a lot harder for the villains.

…

Unsurprisingly, Nemesis and Prometheus were easily backing Red Storm into a corner. It probably had something to do with Nemesis's previous experience with the Dragon Miraculous, or the heroine's own inexperience, but... this level of resistance was pitiful

Mainly because Red Storm's entire plan apparently consisted of her turning into water and escaping into the sewers.

Which would have been much easier if Prometheus couldn't apply adjectives to real objects.

Red Storm launched herself towards the storm drain, but Prometheus quickly scribbled a word on his notepad and flicked it. 'Sealed' appeared in bright red ink, and the drain was covered by a layer of cement. The heroine resolidified and charged, swinging her blade, which Nemesis easily blocked. "You set up. I'll handle her in the meantime."

The villainess clapped her hands twice, and four sabers materialized around her, moving through the air like they were wielded by invisible swordsmen.

Actually, they might have been. She'd have to check that later. But for now... "Pret! Allez!"

Red Storm dissolved into wind, avoiding the first wave, then reforming to knock the blades out of the air. A quick spin implanted her foot into Nemesis's stomach, knocking her backwards.

The Dragon hero advanced, grinning. "One down!"

Unfortunately for her, Prometheus was intelligent. Something struck her stomach, ink forming into letters, before the villain's barked out, "Stop!"

Nemesis grinned, taking in the word on the immobilized heroine's costume: 'obedient'. "Prometheus, you're a genius, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

He smirked victoriously. "Thanks, Nemesis. Now then. Red Storm, relinquish your Miraculous."

The heroine did as instructed, removing the choker and handing it over, before the light of transformation revealed Aurore Beaureal behind the mask.

Nemesis snorted. "The weather girl. We should have seen this coming. Of course Cat Noir would get desperate without his precious love-bug. Alright. Go about your daily business until the effects of this adjective are undone."

Aurore clearly wanted to scream, but had no choice but to turn around and start walking away, her body completely subject to Nemesis's command.

Prometheus laughed. "That was easy! You know, it might have been overkill sending two villains after each hero-"

Artemis soared over their heads and landed directly behind them, a heap on the pavement. She let out a groan. "Kim got me with Uproar. Apollo's still fighting him."

Nemesis sighed. "Great work, Prometheus, you tempted fate. You tried to avoid the trap and ended up building the trap and stepping right into it."

Prometheus created a portal. "Can we discuss this later?"

…

King Monkey sprang across the rooftops in pursuit of Luka- he didn't know how exactly Marinette had made him so strong- hurling his weapon in an attempt to cut him off. The villain immediately halted to keep from losing his powers.

King Monkey readied his bow. "Luka, you have to stop! Can't you see Marinette's just using you?! She's been bullying Lila, and now she's akumatized because we called her out about it! Why are you helping her?!"

Luka glared coldly at him. "Because of that! You've known Marinette for years now! You've been going to school since... I dunno, forever I guess! Why the heck would you trust a girl you literally just met over the one you've known for years?!"

"Marinette's jealous of Lila! She's been bullying Lila ever since she got back! She threatened Lila in the bathroom and said she'd take all Lila's friends away! Plus Lila's done so many amazing things that Marinette hasn't! Why wouldn't I take Lila's side?!"

A cold, velvety voice purred into King Monkey's ear, "Wow, Kim. Thanks so much for telling me all about that."

Purple light wrapped around his vision, and he knew nothing more.

…

Eris smirked with glee as she walked back up to Pegasus, who Psyche was restraining in a bright pink semitransparent cube. "Marinette! Let me out this instant!"

Eris laughed, a cold and cruel noise. "Nice try, Max. Bye-bye!"

She swung her blade, and Pegasus was sucked up, the Horse Miraculous falling to the ground. Kaalki, looking quite disoriented from the forced detransformation, spiralled out of it.

Eris quickly checked to see if Hawk Moth was active and found nothing. Personal Hell promptly lit up, dropping a necklace and a pearl bracelet onto the ground. Nemesis walked over, dropping the Dragon Miraculous on top of the little pile. "Kaalki, get these back to Master Fu, understand? Do it quick before Hawk Moth comes and takes a look."

Kaalki stared briefly, surprised, then nodded and created a portal. The Miraculi fell into it, and Kaalki grabbed the glasses and dropped them in as well. "Good luck, Ladybug."

The Horse Kwami disappeared, returning to her Miraculous, and the Voyage closed.

Nemesis sighed. "Well, at least he won't get his hands on those. We're still no closer to finding Hawk Moth though."

Eris sighed. "You're absolutely right. I just wish we had some way of sniffing him out..."

Apollo raised his hand. "What if we did?"

When the other five turned to him, he continued. "The Dog Miraculous had the ability to find things, right? You guys haven't used it before because it would take longer than five minutes to find him. But since Eris isn't using a Miraculous and could hold the power for longer..."

Eris was beginning to grin. "It'll be a pretty big strain... but we could definitely find him that way! We just need some way of luring the heroes out... and hoping they took out the Dog Miraculous... I've got it! Hawk Moth?"

The purple butterfly mask blazed in front of her eyes. **_What is it, Eris?_**

"I need a favour..."

…

Cat Noir sighed as he slumped down in his chair. He'd created a small base of operations in Chloe's room. He looked over his team- Carapace, Queen Bee, Bunnyx, Minimouse, Storming Ox, Golden Retriever, Watersnake, and Goat Noir. He'd managed to recruit Mylene, Ivan, Sabrina, Kim's girlfriend Ondine, and unsurprisingly Wayhem.

"Okay. Red Storm, King Monkey, and Pegasus have all been taken out. I severely underestimated this akuma. We're going to need more. A heavy assault team. If Marinette makes her location known, we'll all go there and retrieve her akuma so we can bring it to Ladybug."

Queen Bee nodded. "First, though, we need to find out where she is."

Butler Jean unexpectedly walked into the room. "Mademoiselle, I suggest you check the news immediately."

Carapace pulled up the news app on his shield, and the headline sprang out to them the moment they read it: Octopus sentimonster attacks Les Invalides!

Bunnyx's lips curled into a triumphant smirk. "Gotcha."

**…**

**Yay, new heroes! Guess who goes into Personal Hell next chapter?**

**I'm wrapping this up during one of my classes, so I'll make it quick. Until next time, stay tuned!**

**Next chapter will be out ASAP.**


	9. I Unleash The Kraken

**Alright, just to recap... we left off with three heroes captured, and Eris's giant octopus sentimonster. Let's get back into it! Also, before anyone mentions how naive Adrien is in the chapter, remember his childhood was really, _really _sheltered, and he puts up with what might be inching a little close to sexual harassment on a daily basis from Chloe and/or Lila. Plus, he got upset at people being happy that Chloe was leaving in Malediktator, completely ignoring the fact that they had the _right _to be happy about it because Chloe was bullying them for who knows how long (and now she's willingly working with a superpowered terrorist. Smart, Chloe).**

**In other news… I GOT POKEMON SWORD YESYESYESYESYES!**

**…**

Eris overlooked the sentimonster's rampage with glee. Skolopendra, as Mayura had called him, had the truly amazing ability to change between two sizes, making it all to easy for the little octopus to pop out of a sewer grate, grow to nearly three stories tall, and start throwing pretty much every vehicle in sight that didn't have a person in it. It helped that he had twenty long tentacles to throw them with.

A flash of white and blue caught her eye and she smirked. _Right on time._

Bunnyx and a girl in a Mouse costume sprang into battle, followed closely by an Ox hero wielding a large club. _Skolopendra, heroes on your left. Have fun, but watch your back._

The gigantic beast let out a warbling sort of roar, lashing out with half his tentacles. The Mouse heroine promptly began skipping with her jump rope as the Ox's arms lit up purple, grabbing Skolopendra's tentacles and hurling him across _half a city block._

"...well then. Nemesis, time to spring our little trap!"

"Copy that. I've got the cage ready. We're just waiting on Prometheus with the laser pointer."

"Marinette!"

Eris, ignoring the call, nodded. "Alright, tell him to hurry up. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a problem to handle."

The line clicked off, and Eris glared at Cat Noir staring at her imploringly. "Marinette, why won't you just stop this? All your friends are really sorry! You should do the right thing and forgive them!"

Eris sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, one of her lower hands slowly moving towards one of her daggers. "So, let me get this straight. My friends abandon and bully me, a girl most of them have known for years, on the word of a girl they've known for two months, completely disregarding everything I've ever done for them, and you think that because they told _you_ that they're sorry, I should just forgive and forget all the bad things they've done?"

Cat Noir smiled. "See, now you're getting it! Just give up your akuma, and I'll take you right to them to forgive them-"

Eris fired her laser. Cat Noir let out a scream of pain as he was consumed in a world of purple light. "_Grow up!_ The world is not all just sunshine and roses! I don't have to be the better person in this interaction! I don't have to forgive them because of a few paltry words! For crying out loud, you have got to be the most naive teenager in the whole of Paris!"

Cat Noir coughed. "B-but... you're supposed to forgive them! That's what you do when someone says they're sorry! That's how it works!"

Eris opened her mouth to yell again, then stopped and closed it. "You know what? If you can't pull your head out of your pathetic ideals long enough to actually be mature about this, I have nothing left to say to you."

She fired again, this time intended for knockback, and Cat Noir went flying. Eris snapped two pairs of fingers. _Skolopendra. Return to your mistress. Dispose of the Cat hero._

There was an echoing screech, and the sight of Bunnyx learning how to fly made Eris certain her order was being followed.

A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she spotted Carapace leading a small colourful force into the museum. She almost went after them, then noticed exactly who was entering.

Queen Bee, alongside a Rooster, Goat... and Dog.

With a smirk, she lowered her glowing fist. Her teammates could handle that paltry little roster.

Then a group of Mouse clones smacked her with their jump ropes, and she had to actually work.

…

Sabrina (or Beagle, as she was currently going by) led the group of heroes through the museum, her power active. Forage was supposed to allow her to see and track smells. She was currently sniffing for Kagami Tsurugi, using a skirt that Bunnyx had... acquired.

She quickly picked up on a wavy trail of red light and began following it. Queen Bee followed in her footsteps, warily twirling her top, while Carapace, Pronghorn, and Gullinkambi hid in the shadows, running from exhibit to exhibit.

They heard the villainess before they found her. Nemesis was running a whetstone over a Roman gladius, making no attempt to stop them.

Queen Bee promptly carried out her part of the plan: distracting Nemesis long enough for Gulllinkambi to stun her with his power. "Found you at last, Tsurugi! Surrender now!"

Nemesis casually looked up from her work, the scraping of stone on steel fading to silence. "Hmm... no, I don't think I will. Let me see... your plan is likely to let the Rooster holder knock me unconscious while you serve as a distraction."

Queen Bee's eyes widened. "Gullinkambi, now!"

Nemesis snapped her fingers. "Unfortunately for you, I also brought backup."

There was a short strum of guitar strings, and in a flash of gold light, Sabrina knew no more.

…

Carapace watched as Gullinkambi dropped out of the shadows, his amber-feathered costume not making a single rustle as he slammed his hands on the ground. "Dawncall!"

Light exploded into existence, yells of pain coming from Nemesis and Apollo as the pink shimmer produced by the Rooster's power, which only said Rooster could see through, blazed to life. Gullinkambi dashed up to the sword villain and grabbed her in a chokehold, Carapace only barely making out his silhouette.

Bright red letters streaked down from the ceiling- 'Darkness' completely eliminating Dawncall's effects, 'Unrestrained' knocking Gullinkambi off of Nemesis, and 'Frozen' trapping the Rooster hero in one place. Apollo swiftly advanced, and Gullinkambi quickly joined Queen Bee and Beagle in his pocket.

Carapace grimaced, then whispered, "Retreat!" to Pronghorn. The two silently backed away, aiming for a door out of the room, but a pink rectangle covered it. The two turned in surprise to see Psyche standing next to Artemis, both girl's hands glowing pink and silver respectively.

Pronghorn got points for her quick reaction. "Nope. Big Escape!"

Her rubber ball (projectile weapon) promptly exploded into a massive cloud of black smoke, and when it cleared, Carapace was outside the museum, coughing up a puff of smoke. "Oof. Really glad we brought you along."

Pronghorn smiled sheepishly. "I just reacted, that's all. You think the others need our help?"

Bunnyx landed beside them, groaning. "She got Storming Ox! We gotta retreat!"

Carapace grimaced. "Great. Now we're down literally everyone except Pronghorn!"

"Um... yeah, about that."

Carapace spun around just in time to see Pronghorn disappear in a flash of purple light. The blade came for him next, but bounced off his quick Shellter. "CAT! MOUSE! WE HAVE TO RETREAT!"

A trio of Minimouse clones immediately ran over, before two faded into silvery light, the last one growing back to full size, her necklace loosing a section. Cat Noir, however, shook his head. "No! I know I can reason with Marinette! She just needs to hear her friends apologize, and then everything will go back to normal!"

Bunnyx grimaced. "Oh, I don't have time for this!" She summoned a Burrow. "I'll come back and get him once I've recharged. Get in the portal."

Carapace entered the Burrow without further complaint.

…

Fast forwarding a few minutes, the heroes had met up in Chloe's room, still in use as their command center. Cat Noir sighed, lifting a teacup off a saucer. "Four of us. Four of us left out of twelve. We outnumbered them two-to-one! How did we lose?"

Carapace sighed. "It means we need a new plan. Maybe we can lure Eris and corner her alone with Shellter-"

Cat Noir shook his head. "No, there isn't any need for that. It's a good backup plan, but this is Marinette we're talking about. I'm sure we just need to show her her friends are sorry... I've got it! You guys can detransform, and- actually, we'd better iron out the finer details. Let's start planning-"

Butler Jean burst in again, and Carapace immediately turned on the news. "Octopus sentimonster attacks Agreste Mansion-"

There was the sound of shattering china as Cat Noir's teacup fell to the ground. "We're leaving. Now."

…

Hawk Moth chuckled menacingly. With Eris's power, the Miraculous would surely soon be his, especially with the sentimonster Mayura had given her. Marinette Dupain-Cheng truly was one of his best akumas. Who knew all he needed was a fellow fashion designer? And a good one- the girl could easily sell her works for thousands of dollars, but that would be an insult to her talent.

Then the window- and a good portion of the roof- was blown off. Skolopendra roared furiously at him, Nemesis and Prometheus mounted on his tentacles. The entry to his lair opened, and Apollo walked in, holding a guitar pick with Nathalie's face on it, the Peacock Miraculous held by Charis, just behind him.

Eris and Artemis strolled in last, the latter keeping a glowing finger trained on him. Eric, though clearly exhausted from some sort of effort, smirked wickedly. "Hello there, _Gabriel. _Why don't we have a talk?"

Hawk Moth gulped, and immediately wondered how exactly things had gone so terribly wrong.

Maybe he shouldn't have akumatized Ms. Dupain-Cheng after all.

**...**

**And Hawk Moth is soon to be captured, meaning that this story will reach its conclusion in the next three chapters. Until then, readers, stay tuned!**


	10. I Marvel At People's Stupidity

**Okay, the story should be over within one or two chapters. So, with that decided... on with the show!**

**…**

Eris wanted to burst out laughing at the shocked expression on Hawk Moth's face. "What, did you think I wouldn't find out? You gave me all these incredible powers and you thought I _wouldn't find out? _Honestly, I'm disappointed, Gabriel! One would think that you'd be a little more careful when you're akumatizing Ladybug!"

There was a gasp of shock, but nobody other than Skolopendra heard it, and the sentimonster decided that it wasn't important.

Eris's hands lit up. "Now then... let's see if we can defeat the big bad moth, shall we?"

Hawk Moth's expression suddenly became triumphant. "And how will you fare against me? After all, I can take your powers away whenever I please! How will you fight me?"

Eris simply smirked. "Unfairly."

Three separate attacks sprang forth from her allies. Hawk Moth nimbly sprang around them, and immediately landed in a box-shaped trap. He pounded on Psyche's shield furiously. "Eris! Release me! I command you!"

Pain stabbed through Eris's body, and she crashed to the ground in agony. "Agh! T-take him out! N-n-now!"

A small hole opened in the shield, and Apollo strummed his guitar. Five seconds later, Eris was touching her blade to the guitar pick that was Gabriel Agreste. Skolopendra let out an amused watery chuckle and set Nemesis and Prometheus on the floor of the lair.

Then Cat Noir sprang into the room, his face clearly displaying his shock. "Marinette? You're Ladybug?"

Eris raised an eyebrow. "I see the stray cat had adopted a habit of eavesdropping."

He stared. "But... why? Why would you do this?! How could you get akumatized?!"

Eris snorted. "Oh, yes. Because I'm Ladybug, I have to be all _perfect _and _happy _all the time! After all, _Ladybug's _just so _amazing! _Everyone _loves _Ladybug!" Her voice was rising, becoming increasingly hysterical. "Heaven forbid Ladybug _ever _do _anything _that might get her akumatized! After all, _it's not like having that much pressure on their shoulders could ever upset someone!_" Saliva flew from her lips as her rant became an almost unintelligible shriek of furious rage.

Cat Noir held up his hands. "Milady, please! Calm down!"

Then he moved his fingers towards his ring. "C'mon, Bugaboo, this is great! Now we can finally know who we are!"

The ring came off, and Eris stared at a beaming Adrien Agreste, completely astonished at the boy's stupidity in removing his only defense from her.

"Now that Hawk Moth's gone, we can finally reveal our identities! And then we can start dating, and everyone will love it when their heroes are dating, and then we can get married, and move to a deserted island, and live off nothing but fruit, and have three kids named Hugo, Emma, and Louis, and have a hamster-"

Eris's blast bathed Adrien in purple light, and she smirked as he screamed in utter agony, her powers overwhelming every single pain nerve in his body. "Oh my gosh, shut up!"

Adrien sputtered in shock. "Marinette, what are you doing?! Why are you attacking me!? You shouldn't attack your boyfriend-"

"We are not dating! Good grief, why did I ever like you in the first place?!"

"B-but... it's us! Ladybug and Cat Noir! Creation and destruction! We're meant to be!"

"There's no such thing as that kind of thing! What, do you think this is some anime where soulmate bonds determine who you'll be with forever? I knew you were sheltered, but I didn't think it was that-

"Got you now!"

Eris merely stretched out her arms. Six of Skolopendra's tentacles passed through the resulting open air on either side of her, and carefully wove back around her, each set of arms holding a hero. Carapace, Minimouse, and Bunnyx all struggled in the grasp of the giant octopus. She sighed, shaking her head in disappointment. "Heroing 101: Never declare your attacks. Goodbye!"

Her sword flashed, and the trio of heroes disappeared into Personal Hell.

Adrien let out a gasp. "Marinette, what are you doing?! Those are your friends!"

Eris glared. "No. They _were _my friends. But they're not anymore. And do you know why? Because when I gave them anything, they were happy to take, and take, and take, but when the time came for them to give back? Suddenly I'm the school bully who's making Lila's life hell. Pretty convenient, right?"

Adrien sighed. "I get that that upset you, Marinette, but it was necessary! Lila wasn't hurting anyone, and you could have gotten her akumatized-"

"This is not productive."

One flash of purple light later, Adrien was gone.

Nemesis raised an eyebrow. "Alright, we've neutralized the entire superhero team and defeated the supervillains. What now?"

Eris frowned. Then the realization came to her, and she turned her head towards the place where the events of the last few days would be concluded. "I need to see an old friend."

…

Master Fu raised his head when Eris entered. "It is good to see you again. Why are you here?"

Eris wordlessly placed the Cat, Rabbit, Turtle, and Mouse Miraculi on the table and sat down. "Cat Noir is unworthy. A new Cat hero is needed."

Fu sighed. "I hoped he would learn with time. It is unfortunate to see I was wrong. But that is not the only reason you have come."

He said it so easily, Eris briefly wondered if he could read minds. Then she remembered that Master Fu knew her very well. "Yes. It's time I finished this. I've done all I can as Eris... so it's time to return to being Marinette."

Master Fu smiled. "Very well. I will fetch some items you will find useful."

He stood up and wandered around the room for a few moments, picking up the Mouse, Fox, and Ladybug Miraculi, in addition to an empty jam jar. Eris removed her arm guard, carefully dropping her akumatized bracelet into the jar, before charging her powers one last time. "No more evil doing for you, little akuma."

A flare of purple light filled the jar, the bracelet disintegrating.

The butterfly tried to escape, only for Fu to slam on the lid of the jar.

And Eris closed her eyes and allowed the cold darkness to recede, returning to her proper identity.

Marinette opened her eyes and promptly donned the Fox and Mouse Miraculi. "I'm able to combine their powers, right Master?"

Fu nodded. "Simply name the Kwamis, then say 'Unify'."

She held out her hands to either side. "Trixx, Mullo, Unify!"

Multifox grinned, then pulled out her jump rope. "Multitude!"

Though she shrank to be even smaller than a Kwami, the usual amount of clones wasn't produced- there only needed to be two of her. The clone wasn't transformed with the Fox Miraculous, but that was fine too. Multifox handed the earrings to Multimouse, who slid them in with no further instructions.

Tikki materialized near instantaneously, before letting out a gasp of shock. "Marinette?! But-"

The two heroes spoke in unison. "Tikki, I'll explain later. But for now, I need you to take us to the Arc de Triomphe!"

Tikki stared, but nodded and opened her mouth so they could climb in.

…

They arrived quickly- unsurprising, given Tikki's speed- and climbed out. Multimouse immediately clasped her hands together. "Tikki, Mullo, Unify!"

Multibug nodded to Multifox, who brought her flute to her lips and played a quiet tune. "Mirage!"

The illusion flared to life- Eris and Ladybug, standing there blankly, until Multifox twitched her fingers.

The illusions launched into battle with each other, the crowd below gasping at the fight between hero and akuma. Several took out their phones and began recording. Good.

The fight lasted about two and a half minutes- an appropriate amount of time- before Mirage Ladybug snatched up Mirage Eris's sword and snapped it over her knee, scaring the Mirage akuma out of it. With a quick swing of Mirage Ladybug's yo-yo, the akuma was caught, and a Mirage Miraculous Ladybug swirled outwards, fixing all the damages caused by the akuma attack.

Meanwhile, completely invisible thanks to Mirage, Multibug opened the shrunken jar containing the real akuma, before swiftly capturing it. "Gotcha!"

She purified it swiftly and released it with a mutter of, "Thanks for your help, little butterfly," before blazing with pink light. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Multibug exploded into a loveliness of ladybugs, also cloaked by Mirage, and swirled throughout Paris. The victims of Personal Hell all ended up in their rightful places- a jail cell, in the case of Gabriel and Nathalie- before the ladybugs began adjusting the memories of the Parisians to a believable story.

Marinette had been akumatized that day. Ladybug had defeated Eris without assistance. Ladybug had discovered Gabriel and Nathalie were Hawk Moth and Mayura and had dropped them off at the police station. Ladybug would not be retiring, but would be appearing throughout Paris with five new heroes to work with the police force and help stop crime.

And because she could, she added a reason for Adrien no longer being Cat Noir- though she didn't actually reveal that little fact. The official story was that Cat Noir had officially crossed the line with his flirting, and was no longer worthy to wield a Miraculous.

Adrien, her team, and her parents were the only ones who didn't receive this correction- her parents deserved to know the truth, as did her friends, though she gave them an understanding of the little falsehood she'd concocted (and oh, she hated doing it, but it was a necessity) so that they could go by that story as well. Adrien on the other hand... oh, he was going to suffer, being the only one who knew the real events. It would definitely matter if he was the only one who knew.

The earrings fell to the ground, and Multifox picked them up as her transformation was undone, Marinette standing there for a brief moment, before Ladybuf was swinging her way back to Fu's massage parlour.

She had some magical jewelry to drop off, after all.

**…**

**And there we have it! Adrien's going to suffer, and nobody really knows what happened with Eris, so Marinette's identity is safe! There's one more chapter after this, and depending on how the poll going up on my profile turns out, I might even write a sequel! **

**Seriously, please vote, your opinions are important to me!**

**Until the aftermath, though, stay tuned!**


	11. I've Had My Adventure

**Just a reminder to vote on the poll! This is the last chapter, readers!**

**I mean, it's not as cool a finish as I'd prefer, but... hey, I promised an aftermath.**

**…**

Marinette walked into class the next day with an expression of innocent confusion. Her classmates all remembered their humiliating defeats as their hero selves, and that Eris figured out who they were, but pretty much nothing else.

Madame Bustier pulled her into a tight hug the moment she walked in the door, sobbing furiously. "I'm sorry! If I'd known-"

Marinette glared. "The fact that you didn't know- the fact that you just thought constantly making me _set an example _was _okay- _just displays you don't care. You'd rather give a thousand second chances than just punish someone for their actions."

She continued walking towards the back of the class, only for Alya to stop her. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Alya nodded towards a window. "You need to apologize, Marinette."

She blinked, then spotted Lila slumped in her chair. "For what, exactly?"

Alya sighed, then raised her voice. "Lila!"

Lila flinched and started screaming. "She's lying! Alya, she's a liar! Please, you have to believe me!"

Then she started snarling. "I never lied! I'm Ladybug's best friend! Why would I lie?!"

This continued for a few more seconds, then Lila groaned and placed her head back down on the desk. Marinette whistled. "Wow. I did not expect that. Excuse me a moment."

She exited the room, then opened her purse and hissed at Tikki, "Why is Lila crazy?!"

Tikki shrugged. "It's entirely possible that the Miraculous Ladybug missed her while you were rewriting everyone's memories. It's an easy fix, though. Just use Miraculous Ladybug again and focus on healing Lila. It should work."

Marinette nodded. "Thanks, Tikki."

She reentered the room, and immediately wished she'd recorded what happened next, because Adrien Agreste was _pissed._

"Where's my ring?"

Marinette pretended to be confused. "What are you talking about, Adrien? Did you forget your ring at home today? You're usually wearing it."

"Milady, this isn't a joke! Where's my ring?! We're supposed to be Paris's celebrity couple!"

Alya gasped, completely forgetting about Lila for a moment. "Wait, you asked him out?! Good on you, Mari-"

"I didn't, Alya. I'm not interested any more. I know what he is deep down."

Adrien grabbed her arm and pulled her in close to whisper in her ear. "Marinette, where's my Miraculous?! I know you love me! You just have to give it back so that we can be a real couple!"

Marinette smirked wickedly at him. "Oh, Adrien, don't you see? Nobody knows you're Cat Noir. Everyone thinks that Cat Noir was retired because Ladybug finally got sick of his romantic advances. Because he wasn't being a good hero."

She wanted to laugh at the shocked look on his face. "Aw, don't worry, kitty. After all, I still know the truth."

Her smile was nothing but cruelty. "After all, as long as you and I both know the truth, does it really matter?"

She walked up the aisle between rows of desks. "Juleka, Rose, is it alright if I sit with you two?"

Juleka adjusted her new hair accessory with a smile. "Rose, is it okay with you?"

Juleka's official new girlfriend grinned, raising her arm to display her new bracelet. "Absolutely! Marinette, come on over!"

…

Later that evening, Marinette was free as a bird. Or rather, Ladybug was.

The new heroes accompanied her across the rooftops with glee. Alley Cat running directly beside her, Ryuko taking point with Fennec, Honey Bee and Tortuga bringing up the rear. It was a formation that worked. Luka had taken to Plagg's powers like a fish to water, and Marc was working exceptionally well with Trixx, his natural creativity making his Mirages almost indistinguishable from reality.

Then a crash broke through the night, and the heroes changed direction almost immediately. Ladybug let out a gasp of horror upon realizing exactly what house had been broken into.

Master Fu's.

The old man greeted her, looking thankfully uninjured- well, aside from a limp, but he already had that. "Ladybug, thank goodness you arrived! I was able to drive off the thief with Duusu's assistance, but they managed to steal Nooroo's Miraculous!"

Ladybug stared, then facepalmed. "Oh, not this nonsense again." She clapped her hands twice. "Guys! We've got another Butterfly to deal with!"

Ryuko smirked. "Then we'll be ready."

The others all nodded.

Ladybug grinned. This was _her _team. And they would get Nooroo back- that was certain. "Then let's start preparing. This thief isn't going to know what hit them!"

**…**

**And thus the tale is concluded. Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing- you all kept me motivated enough to get off my couch and actually work on this thing. If there are enough votes for me to continue, I shall do so in a week's time. But, until then... stay tuned.**


	12. I'm Rewriting the Fic (details inside)

Hey guys. So, I've been kinda bored lately, and I decided to re-read Goddess of Strife. I realized pretty quickly: "WOW, there's a lot of errors in here. I should correct that."

Then I started with Chapter 1, and I... kinda ended up rewriting the entire chapter. So, that's what this is about! If you're reading the sequel fic to this, you'll be aware that I'm rebranding the series for personal reasons, and I decided that I wanted to rewrite the original to seem like a more serious Akumanette fic, since this was originally meant for humour more than anything else.

So I'm changing the text, coming up with a new storyline, and making overall major improvements to the fic. I'll leave this one, the original, up for a little longer in case anyone wants to reread it or something, but it'll be down by October. But if you like this, please stay tuned for my rewrite, titled "Bringer of Strife".


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